Book II: Dragon Fist Martial Tournament
by aisha12894
Summary: The long awaited sequel to Book I: School Rumble! The annual DFM Tournament is in fully swing as the gang now has to confront new and old foes that desperately want to usurp their reign. Will they maintain their prestigious record or fall victim to some unexpected friendly fire? Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

"Today's the day, huh?" A random masculine voice was questions after promptly checking the time on the clock. He then peered over at his companion, who stood off to his side.

"Yep, it's the meeting before the start of the tournament." The other person agrees before they mention, "Can't wait to see who will be there."

 **4444**

The three girls' entered inside of an abandoned factory warehouse, followed the posted arrow signs and arrived at their destination.

"It's good to see you three again, Utonium sisters." A feminine voice captures their attention before the sight of a teen age girl, with waist length loose orange curly hair in a braid, enters their line of vision.

"Kaylee," One of them politely greeted while her Second and Third rank immediately appeared at her side before the group stepped inside of the meeting area.

' _They really should rent this place and buy new furniture.'_ Blossom inwardly considers.

She was sweeping the entire area only to find a large circular table with enough seats for each Top to have a seat.

The sight of the other Tops and their lieutenants captured the sisters' attention as they crossed the door's threshold and head toward the table

"Are we early for the meeting?" Bubbles was suddenly muttering, which was catching her two sisters' ears.

The blonde then earned a response from Buttercup, "Everyone's on time. All we need is…never mind,"

A teenage girl with medium length curly raven hair, obsidian eyes and tan skin leisurely strolls toward her seat first. She was clad in a white ¾ sleeves sweetheart neck top, white pleated skirt and a golden waist belt. Golden gauntlets adorned both of her wrists while light brown Gladiator sandals graced her feet.

"Good morning, my fellow comrades. We will begin the meeting as soon as every takes their seat." She politely greets and instructs them to have a seat.

"Here we go…" Buttercup miserably grumbled under her breath after she secured her seat at the table.

"Before we conduct the meeting, I was instructed to inform you that there were a couple changes made over the past several weeks. The Head of the Discipline Committee will now actively sit in on the meetings. They will strictly serve in a Parliamentarian position as well as maintain security detail for the tournament. I present to you…"

"Is…" Bubbles was speaking up when Blossom was adding, "…that…" and Buttercup finishing up with "…who I think it is?"

 **4444**

"You two are up earlier than usual." A feminine voice suddenly interjected at the sight of the jet black haired and orange haired boys propped up at the kitchen's island.

"Barely got any sleep last night," The jet black haired one drowsily discloses once he notices that her eyes were on him.

A smile was stretching across her face before purposely implying, "Well when Buttercup is your date, you got to give her a run for her money Butch."

Butch deeply exhaled a deep sigh, chuckled at the comment and agreed, "Hm, you ain't lying about that Serena."

Serena then directs her gaze to the orange haired male, which prompts her to ask, "What about you Brick? Did you enjoy your Saturday?"

"Aside from the fact that a strange woman, name Sedusa, attacked Blossom and I yesterday, it was pretty uneventful." Brick disclosed as he opted to omit information about Flash out of the conversation.

' _That's something Pinkie has to deal with on her own. I'm sure she doesn't want others in her business.'_ He was inwardly considering Blossom's feelings about the Flash's situation.

"Oh...what was that?! You were with Blossom yesterday?" The orange haired woman teasingly jeered at the younger orange haired teen.

This was news even for Butch's ears, which earns the response, "So did you find out why she was acting like a zombie all week?"

"A _zombie_?" Serena repeats as confusion sets in until Brick finally clarifies, "Blossom had been acting really strange during our Sports Fest week. Come to find out Bell and Flash found about us being in El Diable de Tridente and blackmailed her so they wouldn't expose us at the school."

Serena senses a shift in the atmosphere around the two before she honestly divulges, "She's a good girl with good intentions. I'm not surprised that she put other's needs before her own."

"She wasn't even the least bit surprised when I told her why we became a part of the group in the first place." Brick honestly comments as he focuses in on the surface of the island.

This time it was his turn to release a sigh and claims, "All I know is that I'm grateful for her silence."

"You should take her out on a date then." Serena promptly suggests before she mentions, "It'll be a good way for you to show her your appreciation."

A quiet silence settles in among the guardian and her dependents before a "Yeah I'll do that" serves as conformation.

' _Maybe they are growing up…'_ She assumes until she sees the brothers starts to tease each other about their love life before it turns in to a wrestling match.

 **4444**

The sight of Drake Pierce unexpectedly graced their sight as he was dressed in a red t-shirt, light washed jeans, black boots, a long brown cotton trench coat that was sleeveless. He retained his chains on his pants, earrings in his ear lobe as well as his rings on his fingers.

"Please introduce yourself." The raven haired girl was politely commanding, which was earning a nod from the brunette before he was opening his eyes.

"Drake Pierce is my name. I'm from Cram Reform School and I look forward to being the newly selected head of the Discipline Committee." He properly introduces himself to the group.

Blossom was swiftly leaning forward to whisper in Buttercup's ear, "I wonder why Athena made such a drastic move?"

She earned a shrug of the shoulders from her sister, when Athena cleared her throat to announce, "Let's get this started."

"The Dragon Fist Martial Tournament will kick off tomorrow at noon. Teams will be required to report in at 9 am no later than 10 am or face the risk of being disqualified. Also, it will give the Discipline Committee time to conduct a Basic Rule Orientation for new fighters and to properly set up the room for the first round. **"**

"Will we be able to bring weapons this year?" The question came from a girl with two curly ponytails held by floral barrettes that blended in to one large ponytail.

"Good question, Aubree. Drake…will the tourney allow the usage of weapons?"

"There are a couple of changes to that rule: one, any participant that plans to utilize a weapon should make it known at Registration. Also, both fighters must wield a weapon if the round has been approved by Athena, the Director and myself."

"Because there are an odd number of teams this year, the first round will consist of eight teams. Since Pokey Oaks High won last year, they automatically received the first bid to pass to the next round. We will randomly draw lots, except for those that wish to primarily use weapons. It will remain a one-on-one fight with five potentially active fights and one alternative. Each team can carry up to six 'fighting' members and one manager and a Student Representative."

"Sounds like nothing much has changed. Good." A short spiky brunette happily claimed as he leaned back in the chair.

"Well Jayden, there has been some revisions rather than a complete total change. We wanted to implement new rules without being too complex and complicated."

"…and before you even ask Chase," Athena was cutting a blonde boy with a golden band around his head off, "it will be at the hotel off of the beach."

"I only have one request," A red haired teen intentionally spoke up, which earned everyone attention. "Wayne's Research Institute would still like to handle the statistical and analytical data that will be collected over the length of the tournament."

"Just so you can discover our weaknesses, Ivy?" A teen with long curly purple haired, obsidian eyes and super pale skin assumed from the girl's, name Ivy, request.

"You should really drop the doom and gloom act." Ivy was calmly advising before including, "Anyway WRI has always been placed in charge of the statistical data of the DFMT. I always inquire at the meeting since it is _proper_ protocol, Edward.

"I definitely appreciate your strict adherence to protocol, Ivy. As usual, WRI will compile the data as well as distribute the results to each of the school."

"Will there be the three additional days once the tourney has been completed?" A boy with ultramarine hair asked about additional days during the tournament.

"Of course, it will be like our own personal vacation." Athena answers before she poses, "Are there any more questions?"

"Ah yes Buttercup…" She was acknowledging the Top of Pokey Oaks High.

"I know that everyone in this room is aware that we aren't allowed to issue any hits during the tournament." The raven haired teen purposely brought up, which earned some eyes in her direction.

"Correct. We would like to only promote healthy yet safe competition among the schools."

"As Blossom would say it, hypothetically saying a hit were to have slip pass our ever so _diligent_ Head of the Discipline Committee, are we permitted to remove or at the very least defend ourselves?"

"My boys and I will try and remain attentive at all time but to falsely promise guaranteed safety around the clock isn't realistic. I will allow self-defense until we have properly responded to the potential hit. If we aren't there within five to ten minutes, remove the threat yourself."

" _Whoa_ …" Kaylee shockingly uttered from the decision that was rendered in favor of self-defense for the fighters.

"I think I like this new head." Jayden was admitting to his fellow comrades, who were nodding their heads in agreeance.

"If there aren't any further questions, we can conclude this meeting." Athena briefly waits to see if there were any more questions before she finally dismisses them, "Have a good rest of the day, everyone."

' _Phew, glad that's over with…'_ was some of the thoughts that were unknowingly shared amongst the teenagers.

Buttercup noticed that Drake was called over by Athena after the others were dismissed from the meeting.

' _I wonder how do they know each other?'_ She curiously wonders since Athena rarely converses with others, especially boys. Plus, they appeared to be rather quite chummy as they chatted with each other

Drake was quickly parting ways with the teen girl before loudly shouting out to the Utonium sisters to "Hold up a minute".

The three sisters somehow managed to halt at the same time but a few inches apart from each other with an expression of curiosity at the presence of the brunette.

"If you're about to ask me what am I doing here then Blossom you already know the answer to the question." He was coyly hinting after speedily approaching the sisters.

Soon realization dawned on the orange haired teen girl followed by an expression of awe that now graces her face.

The brunette swiftly motions a finger for them to remain quiet and confesses, "I've been meaning to tell Midori about my new gig too _but_ she hasn't been answering any of my calls."

"Has Butch told you anything yet, Buttercup?" He then abruptly poses to the raven haired chick out of the group, who merely shakes her head no.

An " _hm_ " slips from his lips when he advises for her, "You should go talk to Butch first before we meet back up again."

"It's not like we're dating." She was muttering the first part before speaking up, "Fine! I'll go talk to the musclehead then."

"That means we…I mean I get to see Boomer today!" Bubbles happily squealed as she cheerfully clapped along at the idea of being able to see her boyfriend.

' _I so didn't want to go see that idiot today either.'_ Buttercup grumpily thought when she noticed that the Blossom dialed a number on her phone.

 **4444**

"So what are the plans?" Lucas was happily posing while pacing around the room upon his arrival back inside of the gaudy mansion.

Argos instantly cuts his eyes over at his comrade when he alleges, "Fortunately for you Lucas, no one has figured out that you sent Flash to the hospital?"

"Are you still harping on about _that_?! That's old news." He annoyingly waved his friend off before he proceeded to repeatedly punch the large punching bag.

"Nevertheless he was a human being. You had no right to beat him inches within death." Argos admonishes his actions toward a defenseless Flash.

A " _humph_ " was emitting from the young man as he was interlacing his fingers behind his head and crossing his legs at his knees.

"Argos, is right." Prince eventually chimed in, which earned a " _tsk_ " and a roll of his eyes from Lucas.

"What are your plans now, Ms. Bell?" He then directs his focus back on his employeer, who currently paints her toenails.

The platinum blonde was gently dipping the brush inside of the bottle when providing an answer to his question, "The DFMT and the complete overhaul of the council as well,"

"Are you out of your mind, Bell?" Prince astonishingly exaggerated since the DFMT and council is a well-respected tradition that maintained balance of powers between schools.

"You never noticed?" She was quipping while carefully gliding the brush tip against the bed of her toenail before adding, "It's the perfect opportunity. Besides, why do you sound so scared?"

"The DFMT is a whole different realm! They're some really dangerous people." He proceeded to explain why her plan sounded ludicrous.

"You have no idea, especially the _bitch_ that is the Head of the Discipline Committee is a real monster. That woman's track record is absolutely ridiculous!"

"I'll increase your pay." Bell simply disclosed since she knew that those three could be bought at the right price.

"You got a deal!" The three were happily chiming in at the sound of more dough being deposited in their bank accounts for this new dangerous mission.

 **4444**

' _It looks like she's in.'_ Drake inwardly noted as he motored up to the curb of Midori's and parked his car in plain sight.

He was leisurely ambling over to the side of the house, scaling up the trunk of the tree and checking out her bedroom.

His eyes caught sight off movement as a smile started to creep up on his face until the sound of her mother prompted him to conceal himself.

The older woman peers left then right, shakes her head along with a sigh and utters, "I swear…"

Drake noticed that she entered in the room, reached for an item, started to fold and said, "She didn't even clean up before she left."

' _Wait…she's not here?'_ The brunette was shockingly thinking to himself as he was searching for specific items that she usually have along with her.

A " _damn_ " slips from his mouth once realization dawns on him before he wonders just where the girl could have gone.

 **4444**

"I'm not surprised to still see you here, Ivy." The raven haired girl posed to the red haired girl after she approached her.

"We do have to iron out the rest of our agreement." The red head promptly explains her presence even after everyone else left.

"You're right. We are in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly, huh?" She was muttering to no one in particular with a far off expression on her face.

Ivy then removes a pair of cat eye glasses from her pocket protector, settles them on her face and answers, "You were elected to your position for a reason. Trust me, it isn't as bad as you think it is."

"I just wondered how the previous Head was able to do it." Athena considered aloud with her chin now in the middle of her palm.

The other teen was typing away on the keyboard all while explaining, "She was actually quite similar to you and Buttercup. That chick was strong but delicate and never hesitated to spare her opponents along with a helping hand."

"I think I still have her information somewhere…" Ivy suddenly mentioned while she specifically pressed a few keys, turned the screen toward her and declared, "Ah here we go…"

"Tia B. Gardner?" The raven haired woman read the name of her predecessor off of the screen.

"Yeah," She said after she returned her sights on to the screen and revealed, "Just like you, she unanimously acquired each and every one of the Tops votes to be elected as the Head of the Council."

"I'm sure you will be able to lead such a rowdy group of teenagers like us." Ivy was honestly disclosing with a small smile to convey assurance.

"Thanks, Ivy. So how about we get started?"

 **4444**

The sound of a fist knocks against the door, which signals to the boys that their guests were presently outside of their door.

"Aren't you going to answer the door?" One of them groaned until the sight of Serena fumbled with a jacket in an unusual hurry motion.

"I got it. I have to go make a grocery store run." She was abruptly announcing as she was readjusting her shoes so that the heel of her foot were easily slipping inside of the boot.

The orange haired woman eventually opened the door and cordially greeted, "Hi girls, how are you?"

"It's been a minute hasn't it, Serena?" Blossom was the one to address the woman in front of them first.

"Well...when you're raising three idiot boys, who are totally oblivious to women's feelings, then we often time go without seeing each other." She purposely places the blame on her dependents' lack of knowledge of the opposite sex.

"Come on in." Serena was excitingly encouraging whike quickly stepping out of the way for the girls to enter inside of the apartment.

"What the _hell_?!" Butch eventually uttered at the sudden sight of three teenage girls, who presently stood in the middle of their living room.

"Language," The older woman sternly advises him with a wag of her index finger at the jet black haired teen.

"What are you three doing here?" Brick was unintentionally questioning, which was earning a rude response from his guardian, "That isn't how I taught you how to greet your guests."

"Welcome to the Shaw residence." The two teenagers politely greeted their guests after they received the death glare from Serena.

"I need to talk to you." Buttercup promptly speaks up with one of her hands on the side of her hip.

"That's what a significant other says when they are about to break up with each other." Butch jokingly mentions with a raise of his eyebrow.

She was visibly rolling her eyes at before calmly explaining, "But we aren't dating, idiot."

"For now…" He softly snuck in but was ultimately silenced from Blossom's voice, "Same here, Brick."

"Since it seems as if everything is good here, I need to head to the grocery store." Serena cheerfully chimes in prior to her departure from her apartment.

 **A couple of hours later…**

"You're pretty quiet over their Bubbles. What's bothering you?" Blossom inquisitively probing to her sister as she was slidding and securing the seatbelt across her body.

The blonde then peers upward at her other two sisters when she eventually reveals, "Well when Boomer and I were at the movies, we were attacked by Fuzzy Lumpkins. We started to fight and I blacked out."

Buttercup roughly slammed on the brake at the name when she loudly exclaimed, "Fuzzy! What was he doing in Townsville?"

' _So that's why those birds flew away from the park.'_ Blossom inwardly recalled how the birds frantically scattered from a loud roar.

Bubbles was merely shrugging her shoulders when shaking his head and admitting, "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Now that you mention Fuzzy, Brick and I fought with Sedusa at the park." The orange haired sister disclosed her encounter with an old foe from their past.

"Sedusa? I wonder which rock did that slimy snake crawl out from under?" Buttercup quipped with a roll of her eyes at the sound of that makeup obsessed manic.

"There's something else too." Blossom quickly speaks up since she fails to mention something else that was important.

The raven haired sister cut her eyes over at her sister and teasingly alleged, "Like what? The fact that you and Brick kissed and made up?"

"Wait… _what_?!" She was nervously stuttering from the accusation as a slight bright blush was surfacing on her face.

"Oh look…Bubbles she's blushing." Buttercup encouraged her sister to join in on the teasing, which was instantly hushed from her declaration, "That's beside the point. Flash was put in the hospital by Bell!"

A strange silence overcame the other two in the car as Buttercup maintained her focus on to the road at hand.

"The twit wouldn't even dare lift a finger for him. Are you sure it was her?" The raven haired sister downplayed since she always viewed Bell as harmless as a gnat.

Blossom was shaking her head in disbelief befor adamantly proclaiming, "I plan to figure that out once I can locate her."

"I say we go and bother Midori. It will distract me from the meeting."

"Good point,"

 **4444**

Just as soon as the day started, it abruptly came to an end. Yet to a select few high school students, they were ever so anxious to begin the next day…a day that would surely bring about excitement and adventure. Why? Tomorrow was the official kick off day of the annual high school district Dragon Fist Martial Tournament.

A collection of six students, which consisted of a Top, Second and Third, along with three other students recommended based upon the evaluation of the principal and Top at that present moment had to be chosen.

Students from across the district will compete in a hand-to-hand or weapon contest as the best ascend one step closer to the final stage: the championships.

Only one school can reign supreme at the end of the tourney, so who will it be? Current reigning champions Pokey Oaks High School or will another school usurp their current hold?

 **4444**

 _06.10.18 Major editing edits_


	2. Chapter 2

**DRAKE**

 _'I guess she isn't home...'_ Drake was sadly assuming to himself because the lights in her room was off plus nobody's car was visible in the garage.

The absence of bodies and movement in the house led him to inwardly ponder, _'I wonder why she isn't at home?'_

' _I needed to tell her about my new position.'_ He quietly wished that she was there since he did not want to surprise her at the tournament.

A gloomy sensation abruptly overcomes him before he heads in the direction of his school since his first stop was a complete bust.

' _So we finally made it to the Dragon Fist Martial tournament...'_ He was happily considering in order to avoid being sad.

A couple of minutes passed when he motored inside of Cram's parking lot only to spot buses in the middle of the parking lot.

Drake then secures his personal items from his bike after he parks in an empty spot. He then spreads a weather proof cover over it in case the weather takes a turn for the worse.

A smile materialized on his face at the thought when he deemed, _'It truly has been a longtime coming for El Diablo de Tridente.'_

He eagerly boarded the bus, located a seat in the front and was handed a clipboard from one of his top rank officers.

Drake was carefully reviewing the paper, which were listing the arrival times for each team as well as the events for the day at the bottom of the sheet.

His eyes instinctively searches and finds Pokey Oaks High arrival time to the hotel, which sparks thoughts about the red haired girl.

' _Midori…'_

 **ALMA**

' _The van should be here.'_ Alma inwardly considered after he repeatedly checked the Rolex watch on his wrist for the time.

He then peers up from his arm and waits until the van motors inside of the parking lot along with a familiar Camaro and an unknown Mustang.

' _I take it that that's the team.'_ The purple haired man assumed after he watched them park and unload from their respective cars.

"Good morning, Principal Zeal," The four girls were politely greeting him while the three boys were remaining mute as they were standing directly in front of them.

Alma returns the greeting when he mentally counts how many of them were now present. He eventually realized that one person was absent.

"I swear she always has to make some type of entrance." Buttercup irritably groaned once she realized exactly the one that was not present.

Blossom shrugs her shoulder at her sister's comment before she reminds her, "That's what happens when money feeds your ego."

"Besides, I would've been more surprised if she was here on time." Bubbles was chiming in while slinging her bag on to her other arm.

" _She_? Who is this _she_?" Butch inquiried about the last member that was a part of their squad until the sound of loud music captured their attention.

Buttercup then roughly jabs her thumb in the direction of a white limousine and lips, "You'll see soon enough."

The three brothers were anxiously waiting to see exactly who would step out of the vehicle. The sight of a bright golden crown and red puffy pigtails finally emerge from the backseat.

An "oh no" slipped from Butch's mouth upon the sight of the female. Brick and Boomer loudly groan the person's name, "Princess Morbucks".

"In the flesh!" She was nasally confirming with a wide smirk present on her face.

"Well…since everyone is finally here, I think it's about time you all load up and head out. We don't want our representatives to miss registration."

"So will you be making an appearance this go round?" Buttercup curiously poses to their principal.

"It looks like it. They requested for the principals to attend the last day of the tournament."

An "I see" left from her lips after they load their luggage in the back portion of the van and the others hop in the van.

"Good luck everyone,"

 **P.O.K.**

Midori was merely listening and rhythmically bobbling her head to her music via her headphones while staring out at the scenery.

Bubbles and Boomer aimlessly chattered about some of the randomest things.

"Did you see the last episode?" "It was really good. I didn't expect him to turn on his own brother though." "I know right!"

Blossom and Brick were in a deep discussion about some book they had to read in order to complete their assignment for one of their Advance Placement classes.

"I didn't think it would be a good read." "Really, his books are always a pleasure to read." "I guess I have to look up some of his other works then."

"Aren't you supposed to be telling me something?" Buttercup abruptly questioned her counterpart after she approached him.

Butch releases a sigh before he reminds her, "I'm well aware of what I told you yesterday."

"So spill…" She was demanding.

"It was when my brothers and I moved to Citiesville and attended their middle school in the 8th grade. We were newcomers so not too many people really messed with us while we were there. Yet, Drake was immediately interested in us and our abilities."

"Brick and I were outside with our lunch when we were approached by some other middle school gang. We were able to easily handle a good portion of them until Drake dropped in and kicked the rest of those losers' ass. He offered us protection even though he knew we didn't need it so he suggested that we could use him as a security blanket if we ever find ourselves in danger again."

"I didn't know Drake was that mature." The light green teen utters in shock about the brunette.

"Your turn," Butch sternly declared, which earned a "Fine,"

"At the last DFMT, we managed to earn a victory against a rather tough team. When we got back to school, Tia B. Gardener was in heavy talks with the Student Council on the next Top for Pokey Oaks High since there was no other request for challenges other than males. At the time, I was unware of Prince's plot to get rid of our Top before the start of DFMT yet it didn't fall through. So instead he set his sight on being the Top but he forgot to take me in account."

"…because he was in love with you." He eventually concluded about Prince before she continued on with her story.

"So somehow, poison was slipped in Tia's cup before she could verbally announce who the next Top would be. Yet, Prince didn't expect for her to leave instructions on what to do if she suddenly expired."

"Did you ever get to fight her?" Butch curiously wondered since Buttercup's face lit up at the mention of Tia's name.

Buttercup shakes her head and discloses, "We only was ever able to spar never seriously though,"

"I bet that left some regrets in your heart." He was assuming after studying the rare expression of regret on her face.

"Unfortunately it did, so I never got to settle my debt with Tia B. Gardener." She conveyed her rue at the chance she will never have with Tia.

Butch was looping his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to his chest and confessing, "Maybe you can find some closure."

"I hope."

 **GENERAL POV**

The hotel's driveway were soon flooded by vehicles that contained high school students, who were ready to represent and compete for their school.

Athena's feet were landing on the concrete all while scoping out the other vehicles that were behind them. There was a group of students that unloaded some equipment from one van until the sight of a red bob of hair caught her sights.

A small smile was gracing her face before addressing the young woman by her name, "You sure you didn't bring your entire lab with you, Ivy?"

Ivy faced a raven haired teen, smirked and asserted, "Actually Athena, this is just my _mobile_ lab."

Athena was shaking her head until the sound of a whistle were capturing their attention as they were locating the source of the noise.

"Good. This looks like everyone." A brunette male said after he paced up and down the length of the line.

"This might be an interesting year." Ivy alleges at the sight of how the new Head of the Discipline Committee commands his troops.

On the other hand, Athena's left eye twitched at the demonstration in front of them until she heard her teammates behind her.

"Let's go check in." The red head suggests right before their respective vehicles motor along the rest of the drive way.

 _ **A few minutes later,**_

Jayden and his squad emerged from a school bus when he spotted Logan and his team exited out of a decorative 16 passenger van.

"Ever the performer, eh?" He jokes at the sight of the brunette and his muggy artsy gang.

"The pen is mightier than the sword." Logan was casually reciting with a smirk on his face after facing the other brunette.

 _15 minutes later..._

"I totally hate this drive." A teen, with orange hair, verbally complained after she stepped out of their luxury vehicle.

Another vehicle parks right behind them as a blonde teen leaps out, starts to stretch, and utters, "My muscles are stiff."

The young man was releasing a " _whoo_ " and checking out his surroundings when noticing a group of girls off to the left.

"Yo, Kaylee!" He shouted and waved one of his hands once he spotted a familiar face amongst the females.

The girl, name Kaylee, directs her gaze in the direction of her name until she recognizes the young man, "Chase, how are you?"

Her question earned a smirk from the blonde, who merely replied, "Ready to hit the gym."

 _25 minutes later,_

A " _humph_ " emitted from a purple haired teen as he stood in front of the hotel when two more vans pulled up behind him.

He watches as a boy with ultramarine hair hops out on to the sidewalk while a raven hair chick storms out of the two vehicles.

"Buttercup, what's good?" The ultramarine head teen was greeting the lady first, who was retorting, "Jayden! Where's the boxing gloves?"

"I always keep 'em on me." The teen, name Jayden, responded with a smile and a gesture at the back of the van.

The purple haired teen was shaking his head, advancing forward, grunting "Muscleheads" and listening to them teasingly shout, "Hello to you too, Edward."

 _10 minutes after,_

A girl with two auburn ponytails eagerly jumps out of the van, releases a loud noise and shouts, "We finally made it!"

"Woodland Prep will be victorious!" She eagerly proclaimed right before the group entered inside of the hotel.

The check-in process went extremely smooth as each team were handed a schedule, a layout of the hotels and their key cards to their rooms.

The Discipline Committee had the entire third floor set up for their operations as well as it being their living quarters.

The girls were assigned to the fourth floor while the fifth floor was reserved for the boys, which was constantly monitored by the hotel's staff.

 **SERENA**

Serena aimlessly flipped through channels as she repeatedly pressed the up button on the remote until the sound of knocks could be heard.

She places the remote off to the side, stands to her feet, heads over to the door and checks the peephole.

The orange haired woman unlocked, opens and permitted entrance to the person on the other end of the door.

"Sorry to come over unannounced," The voice was sincerely apologizing once the woman were standing in front of them with a placid expression on her face.

"It's fine. I'm surprised you didn't come over here earlier, _Alma_." Serena honestly admits before she offers him something to drink.

A "thank you" emitted from his voice after he accepted the cup and revealed, "The DFMT."

His response was catching her off guard as she was plopping down next to him on her couch with a curious expression now present on her face.

"So what's the purpose behind this tournament?" Serena probes while she carefully brings the rim of the mug to her lips.

Alma placed the cup down on the coffee table before he provided an answer to her question, "The Dragon Fist Martial Tournament is an annual event that pits high school students against each other in a week long competition. The winner earns certain rights, which can be enforced throughout the entire year until the next tournament occurs."

"It doesn't sound that bad." She was admitting after placing her cup on the table until her guest were speaking up again, "In the previous years, there actually have been some turf wars that occurred under certain school's reign. Ever since we won last year, we made it a point to keep the peace among the schools."

"I see."

 **GENERAL POV**

"Please sign in and grab your nametag." A staff representative dutifully informed the participants of the DFMT as they approached the Main Ballroom doors.

Upon their entrance inside of the ballroom, there were three signs with "Fighters" on the left, "Student Reps" in the center and "Managers" on the right.

The place was filled with loud rowdy chatter amongst the participants until the sight of a teen aged girl with medium length curly raven haired took the stage.

She wore a white ¾ sleeves sweetheart neck top, white pleated skirt, golden thin waist belt, golden gauntlets and gladiator sandals.

The girl then was directsing her obsidian eyes toward the crowd while bringing the microphone up to her mouth.

"Welcome to the 7th Annual Dragon Fist Martial Tournament!" She politely addressed the crowd before she introduced herself, "My name is Athena from Olympus Prep and I serve as the Head of the Tops."

Her introduction earns more whispers until she speaks over the noise, "Now I would like for each Top to introduce themselves to everyone."

"Jayden, Armada Reform School," A spiky crop brunette with hazel brown eyes stood up in the "Fighters" group.

"Logan, the Lyre Schools for the Arts," An ear-length curly blonde with forest green eyes stood up near the teen, name Jayden.

A curly orange haired tied in a plait with blue eyes introduced herself to the crowd, "Kaylee, the Maiden Fashion Institute,"

"There's no way she can be a fighter." One of the participants were mumbling after the sight of Kaylee in the "Fighters" group.

A short straight dirty blonde with chocolate brown eyes greeted them with a small smirk on his face, "Chase from the Merit Boarding School,"

"Buttercup from Pokey Oaks High," The raven haired teen with lime green eyes introduced herself to the crowd.

Her introduction also yields more whispers from the crowd until a long curly purple haired teen rises to his feet, "Edward from THE Shakespeare's Schools for the Arts,"

"Ivy from Wayne's Research Institute," A wavy shoulder length red head stood up in the "Managers" group.

"Aubree, Woodland Prep," An auburn haired teen with two ponytails instantly hopped to her during her introduction.

Athena was nodding her head as a signal for the Tops to have a seat when the sight of another brunette with his hair in a ponytail was materializing next to her.

"No way!" Midori uttered to herself at the sight of the young man in front of her on the stage with a smirk on his face.

"Yo! I'm Drake from Cram Reform School and I'm the new Head of the Discipline of Committee." The brunette was introducing himself to the crowd.

' _What the heck?!'_ The red head angrily demands at the sight of Drake, who now wears a goofy smirk on his face.

"I'll explain the format, rules plus the Do's and Don'ts of the tournament. Listen up and listen well because I'm not repeating myself."

"On the first day, we will have two matches from the 'A' bracket. The winner of those two matches will draw from a lottery to determine who will face the number one seed. The same thing applies to the 'B' bracket, except they will face the number two seed. The second day will consist of the quarterfinals and the third day the semifinals. There will be a day of rest built in after each round until we head in to the championship." He was explaining the new format.

"Each team consists of eight members: six fighters, a manager and a Student Representative. The managers are responsible for the fighters and their roster. The Student Reps serve as a liaison and the go to person between the schools." Drake was breaking down each of the roles.

"Do exhibit sportsmanship. Don't be a jerk if you lose. Do interact with each other. Don't be rude. Do have fun. Don't go crazy. Do listen to the Discipline Committee. Don't be hardheaded." He advised the group before he handed over the microphone.

"There is some time for you to get to know each other. So please do talk and chat with each other."

"I think I'll sneak out and head back up to the room." Butch suddenly disclosed with an expression of boredom on his face.

Buttercup merely rolls her eyes at her counterpart when Midori breaks through the noise, "It's on the schedule so it's mandatory for you to participate."

"Who knows? Maybe you just might make a new friend." Bubbles was quipping before spottin a familiar face in the crowd and heading in that direction.

Butch felt the heat from Midori until he eventually caved in, hopped to his feet and started to walk around the ballroom.

' _I swear…girls' can be so…'_ He inwardly grumbles before he unexpectedly stops a few feet away from a group students.

"Dude, how you get those abs? I've been trying for the longest." Butch promptly requested after he noticed the physique of the dude in front of him.

"Man, all I do is four sets of 25 Diamond sit-ups, six sets of 5 minute Spiderman Plank Crunches, five sets of seven minute Bicycle Crunches, throw in some Cross Crunches and your set." The brunette teen reveals one of his workout methods, which causes Butch to mentally note his routine for later uses.

He then extends his hand out for a handshake in order to introduce himself, "The name's Butch man." "Jayden,"

"Kaylee!" Bubbles was cheerfully shouting to a teen with waist length loose orange curly hair tied in a plait.

"Bubbles!" The teen age girl was returning the same emotion as the blonde did towards her.

"I love your outfit!" She honestly admitted after she checked out the outfit that she was in.

"Thanks. I'm trying out the Bohemian look. And you?" Kaylee discloses as she twiddles her hand around her long plait.

"I've been into the retro look, lately." Bubbles reveals her current trend after she steps back to show the orange haired girl her outfit.

"It's about connecting to your roots. You know be in tune with Mother Nature." She advised with a small smile on her face.

"I see you still like wearing that gravity defying ribbon, Blossom." A feminine voice was teasingly jawing at the orange haired teen, which was earning her sights.

"Just like how you wear those asymmetrical glasses?" Blossom jokingly lipped after she faced a teen with her red haired styled in a bob.

"Touche." She simply accepts defeat with a nod of her head before she curiously poses, "Who's your friend?"

Blossom was merely tapping the boy's shoulder, waiting till he faces her and introducing the two, "Brick met the Mistress of Data, Ivy."

"Mistress of Data?" He repeated since it sounded a bit weird to have earned a name such as hers. "It's one of the many monikers I've acquired."

"She's pretty cute." Boomer unintentionally mentions after he notices a few cute faces in the crowd when he suddenly hears a voice agrees, "I know right man."

The blonde peers over to find a dude with long spiky Ultramarine hair with turquoise eyes, who asks him, "What's your name?" "Boomer,"

"Like a boomerang?! That's pretty cool dude! The name's Vincent." The boy, name Vincent, introduces himself to him.

"Drake," Midori uttered the brunette male's name after she realized that he approached her.

His face was morphing to an apologetic expression when starting to explain, "Midori, look I tried to tell you."

"It doesn't seem like it to me." She irritably grumbles after she recalls the image of him and Athena a few minutes ago.

"I had…" He spoke up until one of his members unexpectedly interrupted them, "Drake, they need you at the front desk now."

"Give me a few seconds." Drake was informing his friend before pleading, "We'll talk later."

2222

 _06.10.18 Major editing edits_


	3. Chapter 3

[ **BELL** ]

"You know there used to be some awful turf wars around here. I'm talking blood and guts everywhere!" Prince suddenly mentioned after he realized exactly where they just passed by.

"I heard all about it after I joined the Pokey Oaks team." He honestly admits as he hones in on the sight before him.

"The champs at the time had requested for me to participate in a mission to eliminate their Top. So that's exactly what I did, I carried out my mission _successfully_." The young man confesses with a smirk present on his face.

Bell briefly cuts her eyes away from the road to her passenger when she inquisitively probes, "Is that how you and Buttercup fell in love with each other?"

He merely chuckles at the allegation before he clears up any confusion, "I wished she did but it didn't turn out that way."

"Do you want to change that?" Bell curiously poses to him once they pull up to a red traffic light.

Prince quietly ponders over that question before he provides an answer, "Nah. If it wasn't for the mission, I don't think I would've fallen for her."

The platinum blonde quickly digs inside of her pursue, produces her cell phone, presses a few numbers on her screen and places it against her ear.

"Good afternoon, I would like to book your Presidential Suite." She confidently speaks to the person on the other receiver.

[ **MIDORI** ]

She was rapidly jabbing the golden circular button with the two arrows that pointing at each other while watching the brunette swiftly nearing her in the elevator.

"Midori!" Drake loudly shouted as he quickly dashed forward until he observed two golden doors unexpectedly closed right in front of his face.

The red head finally releases a sigh of relief while she patiently waits for the elevator to reach her floor.

' _I really need to take a nap.'_ She inwardly considered once a yawn emitted from her mouth as she stifled it with one of her hands.

A " _ding_ " was bringing her out of her thoughts while waiting until the doors were sliding open and then advancing forward until reaching her room.

Midori pushes the door open after she taps her key against the lock, trudges over to one of the beds and collapses face forward on the bed.

An "ugh" irritably verbalized from her mouth right before images of Drake Pierce suddenly popped up in her thoughts.

' _That jerk could've told me that he was going to be here!'_ The red head was inwardly grumbling while repeatedly slamming her fists against the soft surface of the bed.

Eventually, exhaustion settled over her as she immediately ceased her frantic movement when she considered, _'Not only that but he has a pretty important job ...'_

Images of a teenage girl with medium length curly dark hair along with Drake cheerfully converse with each other abruptly plagues her inner thoughts.

' _I got to get rid of these thoughts!'_ Midori ultimately decided after she scooped up the pillows from the floor during her rant.

[ **DRAKE** ]

' _Crap! Now she's mad at me!'_ Drake was eventually surmising after closely examining the expression that was present on the red head's face.

The brunette roughly slams the side of his fists against the elevator's doors, which earns a question, "What's the matter Drake?"

He then dropped his fist from the door, drooped his head and wearily verbalized, "I have to do a lot of explaining and apologizing later."

" _What_?! The all mighty Drake has to _apologize_?!" Athenawas jokingly teasing at the sight of the young man, who was presently hanging his head and dropping his shoulders forward.

"She's the Manager for the POK High School, right?" She inquisitively probed after she recalled her name from the Student Managers' listing at the Meet n' Greet.

A smirk stretches across her face when the raven haired teen curiously challenges, "Oh, did you finally find someone who would ruffle your feathers?"

"Quite the opposite…she calms them." Drake was sincerely divulging after lifting his head upward to speak to the young lady.

Athena simply quirked an eyebrow at his response and earned an astonished reply, "That's quite the feat! I must meet her!"

The brunette shakes his head a no before he offers an explanation as to why that is not possible, "She's probably thinking: 1) you're an ex-girlfriend or 2) I have a crush on you."

She was slightly caught off guard from his comment before she unintentionally diverted her eyes away from him to nervously question, "Well…do you?"

"Not in the slightest, you little brat!" He immediately strikes down the notion, which she immediately snaps back at him, "Ouch, way to let me down gently!"

"Honesty is my number one policy." Drake adamantly stated while he straightened up his posture with a serious expression on his face.

Athena rolls her eyes with a slight blush on her face when she asserts, "Well not from the looks of it. You should go apologize once we set the ballroom up."

' _I hope she understands.'_

[ **GENERAL POV** ]

At the end of the Meet n Greet, the students were instructed to depart from the ballroom and head up to their respective floors.

Buttercup constantly searched for Midori since she said that she headed to the restroom but there still were no signs of her in the ballroom.

' _I wonder where she went?'_ She was mentally pondering to herself all while actively scanning the entire crowd for a red bob of hair. Instead of Midori, she found a familiar brunette enter inside of the room.

"Drake!" The raven haired teen was loudly shouting his name and dashing over in his direction in order to ask, "Hey, have you seen Midori?"

"She stormed off to her room." He answered with a sullen expression on his face as he pointed upward to the ceiling.

Bubbles eventually made her way over to the pair when she asked, "Did you do something wrong?"

Drake was deeply exhaling before muttering, "Nope."

Buttercup then faces her blonde sister direction after she overhears Butch's voice mentions, "From the looks of it, he did look pretty buddy buddy with that Athena chick a few minutes ago. Could be jealousy?"

"I mean she's a pretty girl…" He was admitting right when Athena was passing by as she was blushing from the compliment completely unaware of the rest of his statement, "…. _but_ nothing like Midori."

Butch gently rested one of his hands on the brunette's shoulder and encouraged, "You got a lot of explaining to do, buddy."

Drake then peers over at the male, pats his hand and agrees, "Tell me about it."

The small group eventually exchanged their goodbyes while the brunette headed inside of the ballroom to set up.

[ **AUBREE** ]

"I see you wasted no time to relax, Aubree." Vincent teasingly commented as he watched the auburn haired girl executed some practice swings with a wooden kendo sword.

A wide smirk stretches across her tan face when she honestly admits, "I had to blow off some steam. I got excited from our little Meet n' Greet!"

The girl was halting her swings, facing the ultramarine haired teen and teasing, "I'm surprise you aren't swimming in the pool or the ocean."

"I took a swim before we came here." Vincent apprehensively confessed with a chuckle to himself.

Aubree pinches her nose with her fingers to dramatically declare, "I knew I smelt the rank smell of chlorine on you!"

He then was directing his sight to her ankles when spotting ankle weights around her leg, "You added more weights to you ankles?!"

"How did you figure?" She challenged while she tilted her head at the young man that stood off to her right.

This time he wears a smirk on his face when he mentions, "You were practically dragging your feet around in the ballroom! Besides, you're always doing some kind of reckless new training."

This time a crazed expression materialized on her face as she aimlessly pointed at the sky with her kendo stick, "What can I say? I'm a reckless wild woman!"

Vincent merely chuckles at her assertion before he continues to watch her repeatedly swing her wooden sword.

[ **IVY** ]

"Staring is very impolite, Athena." Ivy teases once she catches the teen passes yet another glimpse at the brunette on the opposite side of the room.

Athena snapped her head in the red head's direction and casually brushed off her comment, "I don't know what you're talking about, Ivy."

The expression on her face was earning a smile from Ivy and claiming, "I always knew _delinquents_ were more up your alley than the goody two shoes that you are."

"Besides, you make it pretty obvious might I add." She alleged with the same smile on her face as she spoke.

The younger teen irritably snaps, "I don't like that idiot!"

"Your face says otherwise." Ivy assertively lips while she presses some keys on her laptop and includes, "You do know he has a girlfriend, right?"

" _What_?! That idiot managed to hook him a girlfriend?" She was shockingly uttering after hearing the bit of gossip about Drake's change in love life.

"Yeah, her name's Midori. She's the Manager of the Pokey Oaks High team." Ivy purposely revealed the identity of the brunette's girlfriend to her.

' _That was the girl from the elevator.'_ Athena determines as she decides to probe a bit further about the girl. "Do you know…how long they've been together?"

"I'm in no way entitled to discuss that information without a completed viable Inquiry form." Ivy was politely dismissing the inquiry with a shrug of her shoulders.

"If you really like him the way I suspect you do, you can always plot to steal him away." She coyly suggests while she continues to rapidly type away on her keyboard.

Athena mentally pondered over the suggestion for a brief second before she quickly admitted, "Never,"

The red head teen merely presses a couple of more buttons, stands to her feet and articulates, "It's just an option."

"I finished up on my end." Drake was abruptly broadcasting while dusting his hands off at the sight of his handy work.

"Good work!" Ivy simply giggled at Athena's happy tone, which earned a, "Shut up Ivy!"

2222

 _06.10.18 Major editing edits_


	4. Chapter 4

[ **POKH TEAM POV** ]

"There are some seriously strong looking teams around here." Boomer solemnly declared while his navy blue eyes curiously took in the sight of the students around him.

"Just wait till you see them in action!" Bubbles was eagerly exclaiming with the palm of her hands pressing against each other.

"So who should we really be cautious of?" Brick curiously needles as his eyes slowly scan the faces of the teams that surround them.

"That's kinda of a hard question to answer." Blossom honestly confessed with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Never fear, you peasants! I was able to acquire the data on the teams since I'm the team's rep." Princess was dramatically broadcasting her arrival along with the sounds of trumpets in the background.

Buttercup rolls her eyes at the girl and teasingly quips, "I so totally forgot we brought _her_ along for the ride."

She simply dismissed the raven haired girl's comment and proclaimed, "An whatever...we will meet by the small gazebo near the pool in say about...20 minutes. I need to gather some other info."

"By all means," Blossom simply agreed to the idea before Princess abruptly disappears just as quickly as she appears.

Buttercup was furiously grumbling aloud, "That girl is a royal pain in the ass!"

"Is she even legit?" Butch inquisitively questions about Princess ability to gather information.

She was hastily releasing a deep sigh before honestly admitting, "One thing that that spoiled brat is extremely good at is...being able to collect information on other the teams."

"Her skills are merely third to Ivy and Edward, who are just absolutely amazing." Bubbles chimed in with three of her fingers upright.

"I still won't give her any kind of credit. Her ego is already inflated enough." Buttercup grips about all the good things that were being said about Princess.

"Butter…" Butch called out to the raven haired teen only to hear her hastily snapped, "What?! It's the truth!"

"So I guess we can kill some time until we have to meet up at the gazebo." Bubbles was immediately diverting the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"Deal,"

[ **CHASE** ]

Chase was casually jogging along a trail that was circling around the hotel before eventually advancing toward a path leading to the beach.

He eventually ran in to a group of young men that upon further examination is none other than Jayden and his team.

"Great minds think alike, eh Jay?" Chase jokingly quips at the sight of the brunette on the trail.

The brunette was peering forward to see the blonde a little ways up the trail and asserting, "I should've known _you_ were going to become restless."

"Well, what can I say?" The teenager shrugged his shoulders up and down while he proudly boasted, "I'm not the _State Track Champion_ for nothing."

"Correction…State Track Champion in mostly _single_ events." Jayden swiftly corrects him after he faces his friend.

"Oh silly me, your school does hold the record in the _team_ events." The other Top was dramatically exclaiming all while pressing one of his hands against his chest and the other over his forehead.

They eventually passed by Aubree and Vincent, who were on their way inside of the hotel, a little ways from the start of the trail.

"Aw look at those two…aren't they just the cutest?" Chase was cheerfully gushing with his hands pressing against his cheeks and shaking his head left to right.

Jayden's mind abruptly envisioned the orange haired girl, name Kaylee, after he spotted the couple at one of the path's entry point.

"You know…if you had any common sense, you would've made your rounds first." He criticizes the brunette once he notices the expression on his face.

"Ah shut up!" He merely snapped at him while he focused on the path ahead since he was in front of the herd.

His honest reaction was earning a smirk from the young man before teasingly chiding, "I swear it's too easy to tease you, man."

The group finally finished the run only to bump in to the girls from the Maiden Fashion Institute.

"Now would you look at that…"

[ **GENREAL POV** ]

As Chase, Jayden and the Armada Reform Boys unintentionally jogged by Kaylee and the girls from the Maiden Fashion of Institute.

The lack of communication between Jayden and Kaylee immediately prompted some whispers from both schools at the sight of the two.

 _Meanwhile,_

Aubree, with her wooden sword strapped on her back, along with Vincent entered inside of the main floor of the hotel.

Edward was tucked away in the corner with a book in his hand while Logan softly strummed a guitar a few feet away.

Buttercup aimlessly scarves down an energy bar all while Butch was close on her tail.

Athena and Ivy departed from the main ballroom only to recognize the faces of the people that were currently in the lobby.

Upon recognition of their respective identities, each one of them curiously peer at each other, repeatedly point their index fingers and loudly burst out in to laughter, except for Edward.

Majority of the Tops unknowingly yet simultaneously convened in the lobby of the hotel.

"We gotta stop meeting like this." One of them verbally jokes right before they all eventually depart back to their separate ways

[ **BLOSSOM** ]

Blossom eventually located Midori, who presently stood in front of the window in the hallway. A smile eventually graces her face.

"So this is where you've been hiding?" She was jokingly alleging once standing next to her friend, who was merely releasing a deep sigh as a response to her question.

Her green eyes eventually register the face of one of the Utonium sisters and irritably question, "Who said I was _hiding_?!"

"Anyway, we have to meet Princess at the gazebo in like ten minutes. We plan to see who will be our biggest threat this year." Blossom easily redirected the conversation to the reason why she initially searched for the girl.

Midori was then facing the glass window again before suddenly asking, "Can I take a rain check?"

"You know that isn't possible, Midori." The orange haired teenager instantly shot down her attempt to bail out on their meeting.

"I'm not the one who has to go out there and risk their body for a stupid trophy." She wearily remarks her opinion about her position on the team.

Blossom was swiftly glancing over her eyes at her friend, turning her body towards her and inquisitively needling, "Alrighty, calm down! What has gotten into you?!"

"Nothing…absolutely nothing," Midori merely supplied an answer to her question, which did not seem to sit well with her friend.

"You do know I'm not a guy right?" She promptly reminds her with a tilt of her head before she includes, "I know as well as you know that when _we_ say _nothing_ is wrong with us then there's something that is really bothering you."

"Some chick name...Athena," She was eventually revealing to Blossom the reason why she was in her current mood.

"What about her?" The pink eyed teen quickly followed up with another question for the red head to answer.

Midori only closes her eyes and releases another deep sigh before she solemnly asserts, "I think she...may like...Drake."

Blossom eyes suddenly grow wide at the accusation as she proceeded to listen to her friend's explaination, "I saw it when she looked at him during the Meet n' Greet session. She likes him."

"So are you going to just hand him over to her?" The orange haired Utonium curiously poses before she follows up with another critical question, "Do you even like Drake?"

"I do _but_ …"

"Stop it right now! You need to be completely and totally honest with yourself. Drake really really likes you and that I know for a sure fact. He was so distraught when he couldn't find you before the start of the tournament to tell you his big news." Blossom was honestly expressing while gently shaking her friend's shoulders with her hands.

" _Why_?" The red head unknowingly voiced since it sounded completely out of his character to act that way.

She then slowly removes her hands from her shoulders to reveal, "He wanted to tell you about his position as the new Head of the Discipline Committee but you were never home, so yeah."

An expression of shock was now present on her face at Blossom's revelation when she overhears, "Trust me, it will all work out just fine."

[ **KAYLEE** ]

"Hey there," Jayden nervously greeted the orange haired teenager, who presently occupied one of the tables in front of the hotel while her eyes remained currently glue to a fashion magazine.

The brunette was peering to his left then right while scratching the side of his cheek when further probing, "Are you still mad at me?"

She outright refused to provide a verbal response let alone a physical response toward the young man that stood off to her left. So she just quietly flips to the next page.

"Come on Kay! The silent treatment is killing me!" The hazel brown eyed teen was loudly gripping while ruffling his brown locks out of utter frustration.

A coy smirk stretches across her face from his honest reaction as she gravely declares, "Good".

"What did I do wrong?" Jayden curiously posed to his girlfriend exactly what he did wrong.

Kaylee silently closes the magazine, lays it on the surface of the table and states, "You were acting as if I didn't exist, Jayden! You didn't even speak to me when you saw me! Instead you busied yourself with your team's... _workouts_."

His eyes closely studied the hurt that was present in her eyes, _'You really messed up this time!'_

"I admit that was really wrong of me. You know I have a brand new squad and this is all new to them." Jayden was explaining why he was so busy ever since their arrival at the hotel.

" _But_ you're right, I should have addressed you first." He honestly admitted as his facial expression showed his disappointment in himself.

Her blue eyes note the sincerity in his tone and facial expression, which earns a wide smile from her.

"Glad we got that settled. Enjoyed your run?" She inquisitively asks after she tilts her head against the palm of her hand.

His eyes instantly returned back to her face when he replied, "Had to find a way to calm down the adrenaline rush,"

"Mediation is always a good option. You should try it sometime." Kaylee was offering up a suggestion for the young man.

"Dully noted,"

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Jayden hastily questions as he watches her stand to her feet.

She gently patted his shoulder with the same smile on her face before she eagerly commented, "Now don't get ahead of yourself _loverboy_ , you just got back in to my good graces. I wouldn't push my luck if I were you."

"Ah Kay, where are you going?" The brunette was popping the question as he was watching her walking away.

"I'm going to go hang out with... _my team_." Kaylee deliberately proclaims after she briefly halts and waves her hand at him.

2222

 _06.10.18 Major editing edits_


	5. Chapter 5

[ **POKH** ]

"You better have a _good_ explanation as to why you're late?" Buttercup irritably snapped at the sight of the fuzzy red haired teen.

"For your info, I held up my part of my responsibility. Besides…the ever so punctual Blossom is late." Princess was boastfully chiding while pointing at the orange haired girl approaching the group.

"I went to retrieve our Manager. She was somewhere hiding from us." Blossom simply explains as she casually steps pass her and flips her hair.

Sure enough to her word, Midori appeared from behind her in order to state, "I'm here."

A smile soon stretches across the raven haired girl's face at the sight of her close friend.

"Everyone's here…so start yapping." The light green eyed teen was demanding after taking in account that everyone was already present.

"I don't get paid enough for this…" Princess loudly groans while she hands each one of them a single sheet of paper.

They then casually studied the information that was present on the paper while they inwardly digested the numbers and charts.

"I'm not surprised that Olympus is up there. I heard they were the two time consecutive champs before we won last year." Buttercup was honestly admitting after scanning the rankings from top to bottom.

"You might need to bump up Oceania." She instantly suggested as she peered up from the paper in her hand.

" _Really_? They only have about two good fighters at max." Blossom shockingly quipped at the idea of Oceania being moved up.

"I heard through the rumor mill that Edward and Logan secretly trained in order to improve their standings from last year." Bubbles was suddenly disclosing with a small smile on her face.

The blonde then leaned forward until she rested her elbow on the wooden rail and settled her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Aubree should always be the median. Her proficiency in weapons is the best yet it is not allowed… _mostly_." Buttercup claims while she repeatedly taps her finger on the rankings of the schools.

"Other than that…it's a pretty good list." Butch honestly commended Princess on a job well done, which earned a small blush on her face.

She awkwardly twiddles her thumbs together while she nervously stammers, "I'm working with scraps so I guess that's good enough but I can do much better."

' _That wasn't a compliment.'_ Everyone, except for Butch and Princess, instantly thought with a dramatic drop of their heads.

"What's next oh fearless leader?" Butch was curiously wondering about their next plan of action along with a smirk on his face.

Buttercup released a deep sigh before she provided an answer, "We've got to get ready for the first official day. Do we have our school flag?"

"Yep, Principal Alma secretly stashed it in the van." Bubbles was knowingly divulging after facing the group with a smile on her face.

Boomer merely shook his head while he teasingly remarked, "Not much of a secret now, Bubs."

She slightly blushes out of embarrassment while one of her hands were presently in front of her mouth when she utters an, "Oopsie".

"Curfew will be strictly enforced so good luck with any and all attempts to get passed Drake Pierce." Blossom dutifully reminded them after she shifted her position on the wooden pillar.

Butch instantly perked up from the announcement, which he eagerly questioned, "So we're free to do as we please?"

"As long as it's within the rules of the DFMT, then sure be my guest." Buttercup was responding while standing to her feet and dusting her pants off with her hands.

A "cool" cheerfully emits from his lips along with a small smirk on his face.

[ **SERENA** ]

"Not to be an asshole but _uhm_ …how long do you plan on invading?" She was questioning the purple haired man after realizing that he was still in her apartment.

Alma simply chuckles at the word "invading" when he jokingly claims, "I've never been accused of _invading_ , _intruding_ yes, but never invading."

"There's always a first for everything." The orange haired woman asserted as she placed one of her hands on her hips while the other waved up and down.

He scratches the back of his nape while he sincerely confesses, "I honestly didn't mean to but it's been a while since I was able to just relax."

' _He really has been sound asleep after he told me about the DFMT.'_ She inwardly recalled how he was aimlessly stretched out on the couch fast asleep.

Serena now folds her arms in front of her chest before she declares, "Luckily for me...I have an empty nest."

An idea suddenly popped up in his mind before he extended his gracious host an offer of good will, "I'll buy dinner for my intrusion."

"You sure do know how to strike a deal, Mr. Zeal." The woman playfully accuses once she drops her arms from in front of her chest.

A cocky smile materialized on his face from the compliment, which he confidently respond with, "I try."

[ **BELL** ]

"You got the jitters or the shakes?" She curiously posed while her eyes remained glued to the colorful pages of the magazine spread.

"I'm itching to fight!" The young man irritably declares as he repeatedly paces the room and flexes both of his hands into fists.

"You'll get a chance too _but_ in due time." A familiar masculine voice coolly proclaims, which earns the stares from the two in the room.

Lucas was dramatically pointing at the two and angrily grilling, "And just where have you two been?!"

"By the pool, it's a hotel after all." Prince answered without hesitation while he dried off his wet hair with a towel from the pool.

"You left me with her!" He angrily shouted as he pointed over at Bell with her knees to her chest and an open teen fashion magazine in front of her.

"Your personality is a bit too much for… _covert affairs_." The young man was honestly discloses before leaning over to one side and draining his ears.

A vein of irritation suddenly throbbed against his temple before he ultimately accuses them, "Y'all were just ogling the girls."

Prince could only smirk once he stops so he could coyly respond with, "That's one of the major perks to it."

"I'm going for a run on the trail." He was abruptly announcing after roughly bumping both boys on his way out when overhearing, "I'm going too."

Lucas immediately halted once his hand grabbed the knob and furiously shouted, "Sheesh mom, I'm not a freaking child!"

He then roughly slams the door behind him and storms down the hallway with an angry expression visibly present on his face.

"Argos, make sure you tail him." Prince instantly ordered the young man off to his right after he processed Lucas tone and body language.

"I already planned too." He was calmly confirming prior to his departure from their hotel room.

"Is he always such a loose screw?" Bell inquisitively wonders while she leans her head against her arm and briefly peers out of the window.

Prince's smirk remained on his face, placed his fist on the side of his hips and remarked, "If he wasn't such a _good_ loose screw, I would've already tighten it once we met."

A smile simply stretches across her face before she casually flips through her magazine again.

[ **DRAKE** ]

Drake eyes repeatedly glanced at the numerous colored video screens in front of him with a placid expression on his face.

He dutifully watches as Athena and Ivy strategically compile the brackets for the tournament.

In the lobby, some students casually pass through where Logan rhythmically strums his guitar. On the other side of him was Edward, who anxiously sips on a cup of coffee while he scribbles on a notebook.

Aubree, Chase and Jayden actively exercise in the hotel gym, which led him to mentally joke, _'Muscleheads united!'_

Vincent was doing laps in the pool much to the amazement of a few on lookers.

' _Where's the Pokey Oaks crew?'_ He was clicking through some live feeds until finally locating what it is that he was searching for, _'The gazebo, eh?'_

The brunette closely watched as they dispersed from the underneath the wooden gazebo for what he assumed was a meeting for them.

"Taking my 15, anybody needs something?" He cordially asks after he leaps to his feet and notices a few hands that were up.

"Alright."

[ **POKH** ]

Blossom's eyes instantly caught sight of the red head girl's movement, who appeared to head in the direction of the hotel and away from the group.

"You're heading up to the room?" She was quickly probing after facing her with an expression of concern visibly present on her face.

"Yeah," Midori simply replies as she breaks her sights from the girl and on to the smooth floor she currently stands on.

Blossom curiously tilted her head to the side and verbally conveyed her thoughts, "Don't hole yourself up again, 'kay?"

The red head then purposely waits until all of her teammates disappears from within her line of vision before she heads over to walk the Nature Trail.

She leisurely strolled through the slightly wooden forest while her mind started to focus primarily on Drake and her role within the team.

' _Man….this manager position sure is rough!'_ The teenager inwardly shouted because of the added stress and responsibility than she normally dealt with on a daily basis.

' _I know how to deal with the Utonium sisters but the Shaw brothers…'_

' _Not to mention, they're in a relationship with each other!'_ Her eyes were unexpectedly rollsing at the fact that both parties were in a relationship with each other, respectively, ' _Pure pandemonium…'_

In the middle of her thought, she suddenly felt completely weightless until she roughly landed on her butt.

"Ouch" She was repeatedly chanting while gently rubbing her lower lumber section with the hope that it would ease the sharp pain throughout her spine.

"Watch it, stupid!" A masculine voice angrily yelled over one of his shoulders before he speedily ran down the trail.

The red head shouts "jerk" while she focuses on her recovery until a pair of hands help her on to her feet.

"You alright?" A familiar masculine voice, along with a hint of his native Scottish accent, was politely asking as he was openly expressing his concern for her wellbeing.

"Perfectly fine. Shouldn't you be on your patrol route or something, _Drake_?" She irritably questions him while she dusts off the woodchips from her pants.

"I had a break so I decided to check up on you. Good thing I did." The brunette honestly disclosed while he slightly tilted his head off to the side.

His comment abruptly ceases her action, stares in his direction and sternly comments, "I'm not helpless."

"I know. I was just _concerned_." The green eyed teen nervously confessed while he rested one of his hand at the nape of his neck.

The red haired teen was merely rolling her eyes while hastily retorting with, "You can save your _concern_ for Athena."

' _Oblivious as always, Midori.'_ Drake inwardly deems along with a shake of his head before he offers her a sincere apology. "Look, I'm apologizing for not telling you about my new position and how Athena and I were childhood friends."

He was temporarily pausing while trying to gauge her reaction when he was enquiringly requesting, "Can I at least get a…hug?"

"You're pushing it!" Midori hisses with a fire in her eyes as she quickly faces him only to see that he flashes her, his infamous puppy dog eyes.

She rolled her eyes at his attempt to sway her into physical contact with him before she eventually caved in.

The brunette was tightly embracing her and sincerely advising, "If anything goes wrong or something doesn't feel right, let me know immediately please?"

"I will Lucky Charms." The obsidian eyed teenager jokingly retorts after she peeks up toward his face with a smirk.

"Ha, don't push your luck now lass." He teasingly counters her with a click of his tongue after he peers down at her face.

The green eyed teen felt her laughter vibrated against his chest from where her face was pressed against his body.

"Alright…I'll let you get back to your _moping_ then _."_ Drake was declaring as he was unwillingly separating away from the girl that was in his arms.

She merely giggles at his current facial expression before she promptly clarifies, "I wasn't moping. I just remembered the first time I officially became Pokey Oaks Manager."

"With the Shaw and Utonium bunch?! Talk about a handful!" He dramatically exaggerated as he held up the palms of his hands for the _Shaws_ and _Utoniums_ combined together and immediately tossed up his hands.

"Tell me about it." Midori unexpectedly finds herself in agreeance with the young man in front of her.

"You'll do great! Besides, you tamed the Berserker of El Diablo de Tridente. That's pride within itself!" The brunette was proudly boasting for the girl while cheerfully jabbing his thumb in the middle of his chest.

The red head quietly nodded her head forward when she honestly remarked, "Thanks for the pep talk even though I didn't need it."

This time, a wide toothy grin happily spreads across his face while he gleefully claims, "Any time, princess, anytime."

' _Now to find the asshole, who bumped in to her?'_

2222

 _06.10.18 Major editing edits_


	6. Chapter 6

[ **EDWARD** ]

Edward's feather quill repeatedly tapped against the blank line paper attached to his notebook while he casually leaned the side of his face against his propped up arm.

' _What to write?'_ He was constantly asking himself as his eyes were aimlessly starting to roam about the entire hotel lobby.

It was fairly crowded since it was early afternoon, which he secretly hope would provide some type of spark to stimulate his imagination, a light of revelation or maybe better, a sudden epiphany will dawn on him.

Either one of those options would have been fine but instead there was nothing but a painful headache.

His eyes land on his phone, which displays his assignment from his teacher. _"Create a short play that expresses a central emotion. Be sure to not only just use positive emotions but consider negative emotions as well."_

' _Positive and/or negative emotions, huh?'_ The soft sounds of an acoustic guitar abruptly breaks him out of his thoughts.

He then located the source only to behold a teen with ear length blonde hair rhythmically strummed a few chords and loudly hummed along while he bobbed his head.

The boy's name was immediately surfacing to his mind while honing his sight on the young man name, ' _Logan_ '.

Surprisingly the two shared a lot of similarities, which sparked a rivalry ever since they met freshman year at their schools' combined annual Arts festival. Emerging Artists Festival was to openly yet exclusively market to the community but in actuality it was a showcase, which consisted of approximately 1/3 of their overall grade.

His portraits were selling pretty fast and he was even making connections with potential future clients.

That was until the concert portion started up and forced majority of the artists to close shop before the official designated time.

' _These musicians always feel entitled.'_ He inwardly grumbles while he stubbornly proceeds to pack up his belongings.

The very first person to grace the stage was none other than _Logan Rhodes_.

[ **FITNESS CENTER** ]

"Yo Aub, how much you lifting?" Jayden curiously wonders while he deliberately places the metallic bar back up on to its respective peg.

"Double what you're lifting," She coolly fired back as she pushed her feet forward and upward against the rubber platform.

The spiky brunette was peering over at the auburn girl when another voice was retorting, "Aren't you supposed to be doing _Pilates_ or something?"

"Oh, you do that Chase?!" The light purple eyed teen shockingly inquired at the sight of a colorful mat in his grasps.

The blonde male quietly rolls and flattens out the mat with his foot, briefly peers over at the brunette male and jokingly teases, "Got to keep flexible unlike that rock over there,"

Stars brightly glowed in Aubree's eyes as her curiosity finally got the best of her and cheerfully shrieked, "Could you teach me the basics?!"

"Sure, no problem," He was agreeing to the idea with a small smile on his face and a nod of his head.

The auburn teen taps the palm of her hands with the side of her fist while she offers, "Oh! I could teach you some Yoga moves."

This time it was Chase turn to see stars as he quickly grabs her hands and happily proclaims with a shake of her hands, "You got yourself a deal!"

Jayden merely rolled his eyes at the pair before he focused on his light workout routine while they stretched.

[ **Outside of the hotel** ]

"Bloss…" Buttercup called out to her orange haired sister, waved for her to approach and added, "…a sec?"

"What's up with Midori?" She inquired about the red haired with a tone of concern laced in her question.

Blossom was unknowingly casting her sight elsewhere as if to think of a way to describe how the girl is feeling, "A bit of miscommunication."

The raven haired teen's facial expression contorts to display confusion before she asks, "That had her that visibly _upset_?"

Her pink eyes instantly narrowed in on her sister while she folded her arms in front of her chest and inquisitively needled, "How would you feel if another chick starts to brush up and flirt with Butch?"

"Not dating remember?" Buttercup irritably reminds p as she now mimics her sister's position with her sights away from the boy on her left.

The orange haired teen rolled her eyes at her denial and playfully declared, "And I was born last night. Anyway, she's a bit bothered by Athena's presence."

The dark haired boy was briefly glancing at the ballroom before returning his sights on to the sisters. "I'll find out. Besides, I need to have a talk with him anyway."

"Take Brick, Butch. We need some _sisterly_ time." Blossom suddenly suggested after she dropped her arms and smiled.

A similar smile graces her sister's face as well when she overhears him mumbles, "Oh alright, but you owe me, Blossom."

"Naturally, of course," The orange haired teen was cheerfully piping up with a movement of her hand.

The two sisters merely watch as Butch ' _escort_ ' his brother off toward the direction of the ballroom while Buttercup gravely states, "You just made a deal with the devil, Pinkie."

"Anytime for my sisters," Blossom confidently remarked as she waved at them until they eventually disappeared from their line of vision.

"So…the hotel has a game center, wanna go?" She was quickly proposing to her after looping her arm through her sister.

Buttercup emits a " _humph_ " before a smirk surfaces to her face when she repeats, "Naturally, of course."

[ **IVY & ATHENA**]

"Are we almost finished?" Athena annoyingly questions after she tosses the papers from within her hands.

Ivy was analytically processing potential match ups while blankly staring at the white board in front of them. She repeatedly tapped a closed capped marker against her chin when she voiced, "We've got the A portion of the bracket completed _but_ …the B portion is pretty difficult to plot and chart."

"Tell me about." The raven haired girl was grumbling while falling back until her back was against the floor with her eyes now locking on the ceiling.

"Not to mention, two teams have a bye. They are…" The red haired girl quietly uttered more to herself before she eyed the teams listed under "BYE".

She merely squints her obsidian eyes before she finishes up her companion's statement, "Pokey Oaks High School and Olympus Academy,"

Ivy simply approaches the board, scribbles a name on the bracket line, scratches out a name under bye and announces, "POKH automatically have A so….you all have the bracket B."

Her announcement caused the girl to quickly sit forward only to notice the red head now in front of her laptop.

"Let me run this algorithm and…" Her forest green eyes were intently watching as her software was processing the data before "Success" was appearing on the screen.

Athena inwardly noted each of the school names in their respective section and bracket when she honestly assumed, "That just might work."

"So shall we get this printed and distributed ASAP?" Ivy's voice was breaking her companion out of her thoughts as she was tapping away on her keyboard.

The other Top confidently nods her head forward before she watches the red head's finger presses the print button.

"We'll need to have security clearance to go on the floors." The teen girl in front of the screen recalled after a confirmation displayed, "Successfully Printed".

A bright blush instantly materializes on her face before she immediately reacts with, "Shut up Ivy!"

This time a coy smirk crept up onto the young teen's face when she leaned her head against her hand and teased, "I didn't say anything… _yet_."

[ **2** **nd** **Floor** ]

Drake returned with a handful of goodies and carefully placed them on the table for his companions before he slid back into his seat.

"Anything, new happened?" He queries as he pops open a bag of chips and tosses a few in his mouth.

The brunette eventually received a response of "No, sir," from one of his comrades while they approached the table full of snacks.

A "good" left his mouth while his eyes resume their job and start to track the movements on the screen.

' _Yeesh…it's almost time for curfew already?'_ He was inwardly deeming after peering over at the current time stamp in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

A few minutes passed before Drake was approached with news that Athena needed to see him.

"Just great..." He was wearily muttering under his breath while standing to his feet and heading outside of the room.

Not to much of his surprise, she was not alone.

"Here's the official tournament schedule. Please distribute it ASAP." She sternly orders as she lifts up the stack of papers in her grasp.

The brunette merely signaled for a man in the room to come forth and promptly explained the task to him, who in turned passed the stack off to the two other members.

Right before an awkward silence could settle between the two, the sights and sounds of a Butch and Brick Shaw unknowingly disrupted the quietness.

"We'll take our leave then." The raven haired teen softly claims as her bang covers her eyes and speedily departs from in front of him.

The Shaw siblings patiently waited for the two girls to disappear down the hallway and out of earshot.

"That's a piece of work, eh?" Butch coyly teases the teen in front of him as he points his thumb down the hallway.

He was closing his forest green eyes, lifting his hands, shaking his head while opining, "You have no idea."

"What's up lads?" Drake then asked about their sudden presence on the second floor, which earned a, "Have you kissed and made up with Midori, yet?"

"I wish I could do the first part _but_ we sorta made up." The brunette honestly answers with a lovey dovey expression on his face.

Butch only stared at him before Brick seriously questioned, "Did you tell her about El Diablo de Tridente?"

Drake unknowingly scratches the side of his cheek with his index finger when he honestly confesses, "In passing but baby steps man, I just got back in her good graces."

"When you do…are you going to tell her the _whole_ story?" The orange haired teen was inquisitively grilling while adjusting his cap on his head.

He instantly dropped his finger from against his cheek, darkly chuckled and gravely remarked, "I can't bring myself to do it. Heck, I've been trying to forget it myself."

Butch breaks his stare away from the brunette before he ultimately declares, "Welp, we were just passing by to check for a friend."

"Thanks,"

' _El Diablo de Tridente, what's that?'_ Athena curiously wondered before she speedily dashed down the hallway at the sound of footsteps.

2222

 _06.10.18 Major editing edits_


	7. Chapter 7

[ **GEN POV** ]

Morning naturally rolls around as the sun's bright rays naturally brightens the once darken black skies to a lighter blue hue.

Alarm clocks were loudly ringing in order to raise the early risers and even the sleeping dead to a brand new day.

It is a new day to some but to the teenagers that presently occupied the rooms in the Darbney Hotel, it was the first official day of the Dragon Fist Martial Tournament.

Today was **_Opening Day_**.

Excitement and buzz always surrounds the tournament. There are those that have to defend their crown from oyhers that hope to stake their claim and snatch the title away from them.

Reputations, fighting skills, and bragging rights were the main objective for the students, who were seeking victory through potentially harsh battles.

Nevertheless, it is still a competition that only the strongest can win.

[ **POKH** ]

"First day jitters, Butter?" Butch teasingly quips upon the sight of the raven haired girl, among her roommates, repeatedly taps her right foot.

Her light green eyes roll at the jab while she verbally retorts, "Ha, you wish. It's basically a free day for us."

"Oh yeah that's right…we do have a bye. Man and here I was itching to punch someone." The teen boy dramatically grumbles after his jaw tics from the ideal of a battle with a fierce opponent.

"You'll find the perfect punching bag if you look in the mirror." Buttercup implies as she repeatedly points to her face for extra emphasis.

"Aw, you think I'm perfect, Butter?" Butch cheerfully gushes while he lovingly traps her within his arms and gently sways her left to right.

The young lady was placing the palm of her hand against his chin, pushing her weight against him, and exclaiming, "Ew! Get away from me, Butch!"

"Alright you two, line up so we can get a count." Midori's voice breaks through their conversation as the raven haired duo cease their argument and fall in line behind their respective siblings.

The red head physically points at each one of them and verbally counts them by numbers twice.

She then walks back to the front of their line to announce, "Everyone's not here, but as long as the fighters are here then we should be good."

"So Princess isn't here yet." Blossom stated the obvious since the red head teen has a tendency to arrive late, which jeopardizes their qualification status.

Buttercup loudly groans at the revelation when she irritably proclaims, "See…this is exactly why I didn't want to bring her snobby ass in the first place."

"Luckily, we have a bye so our attendance isn't really quite necessary. However, we will discuss her truancy later on. Right now we have to focus on representing Pokey Oaks High School as well as showing others the reason why we're the champs." Midori deliberately redirects their concentration back on to the agenda.

"Bubbles," The green eyed teen calls out to the blonde Utonium in order to inquire, "Did you managed to get the school flag from the van?"

She was then lifting the clear circular plastic carrying case containing their school flag before removing and unraveling it for the others to see.

"Our school's mascot is a _wildcat_?" Butch astonishingly questions once his eyes slowly process the image of a wildcat in the middle of a gray circle with Pokey Oaks at the top portion of the arc and High School at the bottom portion in red against a white backdrop.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice. It's was on our PE uniforms and the hallway." Brick jaws after he witnesses his brother's in complete awe at their school's mascot being a wildcat.

His green eyes instantly cut over to his red haired brother when he honestly jeers, "As if I cared about what I had on when there were hot babes in volleyball shorts in front of me."

Boomer loudly coughs in order to capture his brothers' attention as he secretly attempts to signal them about the girls.

"Butch Shaw, you're a pervert." Buttercup proclaims as she roughly pinches his ear and drags him back to his place in line.

"It's time for the parade." Blossom reveals after one of the teens, who work security, recently informs her as Midori quickly places them in an order.

[ **BALLROOM** ]

"Boss, we've secured this area and patrol hasn't encountered anything yet." One of his subordinates dutifully informs him about any recent updates in their poles.

"Good. Keep all radios on radio silence until I order otherwise." Drake issues out a set of orders right before a raven haired girl approaches him from the side.

"You seem to have eased in your position pretty quickly." Athena sincerely compliments as her obsidian eyes closely track the movements of their personal security throughout the ballroom.

The brunette simply folds his arms in front of his chest, deeply sighs and remarks, "This is the easy part. I have some serious making up to do for Midori to even talk to me again."

The young lady lovingly pats the side of his arm while she coyly states, "Aw, poor you! Like the old saying goes there's plenty of fish in the sea."

He deeply sighs this time before he sternly asserts, "That's my fish! Then again...I really suck at fishing."

"Well, got to go." Drake comments after he reads the time off the face of his watch and jogs over to the doors of the room.

She was watching in silence as he was quickly disappearing behind the doors and out of her sights.

' _Stupid, stupid, stupid,'_ Athena was inwardly repeating while mentally slapping herself in the forward over and over again.

"Smooth move there, kiddo." A familiar feminine voice teasingly chimes in once she stands next to the raven haired teen, who then irritably storms off as she shouts, "Shut up Ivy!"

The red head teen could only smile at her friend's visible frustration with the infamous Drake Pierce.

[ **KAYLEE** ]

Kaylee cheerfully hums and bobs her head as she patiently waits for the elevator doors to slide open once she reaches the Lobby.

A " _ding_ " signaled to the orange haired teen that she finally arrived at her intended destination and walked out of the elevator.

Her blue eyes instantly catch sight of a wonderful piece of fabric when she cautiously approaches the person to say, "Excuse me but your skirt is so chic! Looks like…Calvin Klein."

"You know your stuff, huh?" A girly voices remark beforr she notices a girl around her age with long orange hair in a large plait.

"They are just one of the many brand designers we have to know." She proudly admits since she accurately guesses the designer based on a series of criteria for that particular brand.

"Are you from…" The girl briefly pauses to take in her outfit only to realize that it looks awfully familiar to her.

"The Maiden Fashion Institute, you can call me Kaylee." She cordially introduces herself with a curtesy and a smile on her face.

"Kaylee, huh? Are you all on a retreat or something?" The other teenage girl curiously poses since she was rather far anyway from the location of her school.

"Actually…" Kaylee speaks up only to hear her manager calls out to her once she finally locates their Top in the lobby, "Kaylee, you're already late. Hurry up!"

An expression of thought, then realization, followed by shock as she uttered to herself, "Oh my! I forgot!"

"Excuse me…" She politely excuses herself from the conversation before she catches up to their manager and heads in the direction of the ballroom.

"Who was that?" Prince inquisitively posed after he approached the teen age girl, who patiently waited for him in the lobby.

"Our way in," Bell boldly asserts with her sights still on the orange haired girl until she was no longer visible in her line of vision.

[ **EDWARD** ]

' _I always hate this time of year.'_ A purple haired teen irritably grumbles as he casually rests his back against a wall.

His gray eyes roam about only to annoyingly surmise about the crowd in a few words, _'I'm surrounded by all of these brawn head idiots!'_

' _Why couldn't it been an art competition or maybe a Poetry Slam.'_ The young man ruminates about other potential avenues to explore other than a Martial Arts tournament.

He was silently musing at his previous idea, _'Oh…that sounds pretty good right now.'_

"Yo Ed! How you been?" A friendly blonde greets him as he draws closer to the somber teen, who cantankerously groans, _'Of all the people, I had to run into…it would be him, Logan Rhodes from that that farce of an Art school.'_

"I'm surprise you even showed up." Logan naturally and easily sliced through the one sided tension with his positive disposition.

"And you're still as horribly radiant as ever," Edward deliberately jabs at the blonde's personality.

"Ouch, I see you're still cruel as ice. Well I hope one of these lovely maiden's heat will radiate their warmth onto you that it will melt _thine_ heart." The ruby red eyed teen was jokingly playing hurt before conveying his hope for his friend.

The only thing the purple haired teen heard was " _thine_ ". He then pushes his back off of the wall, points at him and alleges, "You really want to go _Shakespearian_ or _Old English_? Either way, I'm fluent in both!"

"A joke Ed. You know like how you're supposed to laugh because it was funny. Or at least a joke for us, fine arts lovers." Logan playfully remarks to his friend with his palms toward him in a defensive position.

A " _tsk_ " emits from Edward after he drops his head before he reminds him, "Comedy is dark remember not _funny_."

"O…okay then. See you on the inside Ed." The blonde politely dismisses himself from in front of the aghast teen.

[ **ARMADA HIGH** ]

"Hey Cap," One of his peers jogs up to their team leader as he addresses him by the moniker, Cap.

"Yeah?" Jayden promptly responds as he faces away from the ballroom doors and toward the young man, who then points in the direction of where the MFI girls currently stand in the hallway.

The problem soon surfaces in his thoughts so he silently counts the girls and notes all of them are there, except one.

The brunette was scratching the back of his head while inwardly weighing, _'That's strange. She's usually never late to anything, especially if its anything related to DFMT.'_

The young man then quickly reaches in his pocket for his phone, finds her number, and sends her text that reads, "Ur late, what r u doing?"

His hazel brown eyes repeatedly peer over until he watches their leader finally arrive, who then removes her phone from inside of her shirt pocket.

The orange haired girl briefly scans the message, quickly types a response and sends it to him.

"Gossiping" Jayden unintentionally verbalized her text and shook his head all while he considered the real reason why she ran late. _'Gossiping? More like she forgot what time to report in again.'_

Another buzz was felt when his phone lit up to show he received another message from Kaylee, "I'm still not talking to you. L8tr."

' _Why do you have to be so freaking difficult woman?!'_ He irritably deems as he glares over at her only to see her temporarily smile before she frowns at him.

[ **GEN POV** ]

Each of the eight teams eventually files inside of the ballroom in alphabetical order. They were guided in by none other than Drake Pierce and Athena.

The sight of the pair prompts Midori to avert her eyes from the couple in the front of the parade line.

"Armada Reform School, Motto: _He who is brave is free (Seneca)_ , Top: Jayden," The boys from the Armada Reform marched in a military formation as one of the students hoisted their school flag: a silver Spartan shield and sword against a scarlet red backdrop.

"The Lyre Schools for the Arts, Motto: _The purpose of art is washing the dust off daily life of our souls (Pablo Picasso),_ Top: Logan," The students from Lyre randomly promenades yet manages to maintain their position directly behind the school in front of them. One artist carries an orange flag with a yellow lyra that crosses at the neck, and a lyre in between the two.

"The Maiden Fashion Institute, Motto: _Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions (Coco Chanel),_ Top: Kaylee," The Maidens from MFI strutted in a single file line so each of their members could be seen. Their manager totes a light pink flag with three elaborate white letters: MFI.

"Oceania Academy, Motto: _What we think, we become (Buddha),_ Top: Chase," The students from Oceania leisurely trod in completely out of formation but somehow remains in an orderly fashion. One of them stretches out their sky blue flag with a shark breaching water in a circle

"Olympus Prep, Motto: _Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success (Swami Sivananda),_ Top: Athena," The students marched in similar to the ARS boys, except their flag has an olive wreath underneath an Athenian gladiator helmet and an owl perched on top.

"Pokey Oaks High School, Motto: _Change your thoughts and you change the world (Norman Vincent Peale),_ Top: Buttercup, Current Champions," Midori made sure that the Shaw brothers were in place while Buttercup carries their white flag with the image of a wildcat in the middle of a gray circle with Pokey Oaks at the top portion of the arc and High School at the bottom portion in red.

"Shakespeare's Schools for the Arts, Motto: _The task of art today is to bring chaos into order (Theodor Adorno),_ Top: Edward," This cast of artists calmly enters as they exude a peculiar air about themselves all while one of their members tote an indigo flag with a white dove perched on a pile of books next to a white quill pen.

"Wayne's Research Institute, Motto: _The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge (Thomas Berger),_ Top: Ivy," The scholars robotically fall in random formations as they proudly display a violet flag with a light blue ruler, a flat-bottom flask, and a microscope on top of a yellow circle.

"Woodland Prep, Motto: _The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today (H. Jackson Brown, Jr)_ Top: Aubree," The group casually saunters in with smiles present on their face while one of the students cheerfully wave their forest green flag with a pink lotus, a brown deer and an Oak tree.

[ **DRAKE** ]

' _Everything is looking pretty good.'_ The brunette inwardly affirms as his eyes closely scan each of the participants' faces.

The parade finally concluded with each school in their designated spot to form a U-shape along with their respective flag, faced toward the center, on visible display.

He quietly observed the teams scheduled to fight promptly emerged from the crowd, who then proceeded to fill in the seats around the venue.

' _Well at least…not everything or better yet everyone.'_ That lone thought was constantly nagging at him, before deeply sighing to himself again.

A bob of red and additional movement in that direction abruptly catches his attention, _'Wait…is that?'_

The brunette stealthily covers the distance until he was able to recognize that it was none other than "Midori!".

Yet he was finding himself temporarily pausing after noticing that someone, more specifically a guy, was conversing with her.

' _Is she flirting?'_ Drake inwardly assumes since he spots a small smile on her face as she speaks with the guy in front of her.

His forest green eyes witnessed the dude had reached his hand out to touch her arm, which immediately earned an angry thought, _'Did he just freaking touch her?!'_

' _No one touches her!'_ Just as he was about to pounce on the man, the red haired woman politely removed his hand from her arm and faced the double doors.

So the brunette unintentionally hung back and quietly watched her head back inside of the ballroom.

"Are you alright, boss?" One of his subordinates was posing after observing their boss suddenly punching against the wall.

"I'm taking a ten minute break." He irritably grumbled underneath his breath with his hands tightly balled into a fist.


	8. Chapter 8

[ **BALLROOM** ]

' _She's really not in the mood to talk?'_ Drake frustratingly grumbles at his run in with the lovely Midori once he eventually removes his fist from within the confines of the wall.

He then quickly peers downward and checks his watch for time, _'It's about time to resume work.'_

 _ **A few seconds later…**_

"You still got that furrow between your brows." Athena purposely points out once the brunette plops down in the seat next to her with a visible expression of frustration.

When she did not receive an answer, she folds her arms across her chest, cross her legs at the knees, and pouts, "She's only been gone eight minutes and you're like a grumpy house cat."

Yet once again she was met with silence, which leads her to remark, _'Just because she doesn't want to talk to you d_ _oesn't mean take it out on me.'_

"Looks like everything is going pretty smoothly for the first day," Athena deliberately comments in order to distract him from his thoughts as they watch Armada Reform and Merit Boarding duel against each other.

The pair sat on an elevated makeshift wooden platform that was apart from the designated general section assigned for the other participates.

"I had a little help with the logistics from an old friend of mine so I can't take all of the credit." Drake discloses with one of his hands now at the nape of his neck as he chuckles at himself.

' _An old friend?'_ She curiously wonders after she slightly faces his direction and lifts one of her eyebrows at him.

The brunette then removes his hand from his nape, returns it to his side, cracks a smirk and playfully scolds her, "I do have to keep some of my aces up my sleeves, lass."

Her obsidian eyes merely narrow in on the young man, who cheers at the sight of a takedown from one of the Armada boys against Merit.

' _If you won't tell me then I'll just have Ivy look into it for me.'_ Athena ultimately deems as she peers in the red head's direction.

A pair of forest green eyes casually spares a glance over in the area where she suddenly feels the stare of someone in that direction.

Athena then closely observes the girl rotate then tilt her head to the side before a smile stretches across her face

' _Ivy!'_ The raven haired teen inwardly grumbles while she shakes her fist out of irritation.

 _ **At the same time…**_

Lucas swipes a fluffy white towel from the pool deck, places it over his head and pats his face with the side of the towel.

' _A good jog always clears my head.'_ He inwardly asserts as he casually strolls inside of the lobby when he notices an "In Use" sign that dangles from the ballroom.

His eyes narrow in on the sight before him when he suddenly develops the urge to take a peek inside to see the competition with his own two eyes.

"And just where do you think you're going?" A familiar masculine voice deliberately questions, which prompts the teen to halt in his tracks.

' _Just a few more seconds and I would've been there.'_ Lucas mentally asserts as he rotates to face none other than one of his closes friends, Argos.

"There is a saying my mom would tell me, a hard head makes for a soft behind." He purposely recites for the situation that he was about to witness.

His eyes roll at his comment when he irritably snaps, "I could careless for your mother's wisdom, Argos. What _I_ want to do is go and find my girl in there."

"You know, Prince will have your head." He speaks up as he watches his friend make a move toward the ballroom.

Lucas clenches his fist from irritation and retorts, "And _I_ care why? He's too busy with his head in the clouds with that bitch upstairs."

Argos releases a deep sigh, shakes his head, and dutifully reminds him, "You really are blind to your surroundings, Lucas. Once we complete this mission you'll see Blossom whenever you want to."

A " _hump_ h" then a "whatever" emits from his mouth before he pushes pass the frail boy in front of him and jabs the elevator's up button.

' _He's becoming a bit more stubborn than usual.'_

[ **SERENA** ]

A deep sigh emits from the auburn haired woman as she patiently waits in the waiting room for the arrival of General Malone.

' _I thought punctuality was drilled into us until it becomes instinctively engraved in our bones.'_ Serena mentally deems as she searches for the man among the crowd of soldiers.

"Special Officer Shaw…the general is in." Lt. Steele promptly addresses her once she receives word that the general was now in his office.

She offers a curt "thank you" before she heads in the direction of his office only to catch him at the door.

"General Malone, Special Officer Shaw reporting in for a summons." The auburn haired woman dutifully informs him as to why she was in front of him.

The older man softly mutters something under his breath prior to a brief silence that settles in between the two.

"We have a problem that requires your expertise." He vaguely hints before he pushes the door open so that they can enter inside of his office.

' _I wonder what happened?'_

[ **BALLROOM** ]

"So why are we even here?" Butch annoyingly grips while he tediously balances his chair on the hind legs.

Buttercup merely stares at him before she supplies an answer, "It's mandatory for all participants to be present for each and every team's fight."

"It makes it easier for the Discipline Committee to keep track of our location." Blossom provides further explanation on to her raven haired sister's answer.

Boomer nods his head in agreement before he chimes in with, "Makes sense, there is a lot of students that are here for the tournament."

"I heard a few years back it was a super closed event where only the team scheduled to fight showed up since the students were too…restless." Bubbles deliberately mentions as she lifts one of her index finger for extra emphasis.

She then leans forward in her seat, moves her finger in the circle and discloses, "More like blood thirsty beast, or at least that's what I heard from our former Top Tia and other previous fighters."

"Blood thirty, huh?" Brick utters in shock at the words the blonde would use to describe the previous years.

The raven haired male carefully rocks in his chair when he loudly speaks up, "Personally, I find bloody thirst beast to be quite the compliment."

Buttercup rolls her light green eyes at his attempt to sound like a badass, which earns the comment, "Of course you would."

"That brings the total 3-2 and ends this match's round. Judges will now be in review." The floor mat broadcasts to the crowd before the two teams return to their respective positions on the mat.

Butch unexpectedly drops his chair on to the floor and quickly questions, "So Armada wasn't going to fight until the end?"

"I guess Jayden trust his team to score majority of the points." Blossom chimes in while her pink eyes remain hone in on one of the three mats on the ballroom floor.

"He's been like that ever since he was their former Second. He has complete and utmost trust in his comrades." A feminine voice promptly reveals as their sights now land on a teenage girl with orange hair, whose eyes observe a rather calm Jayden.

"Kaylee," Bubbles cheerfully gushes at the sight of the girl before she tightly embraces her in a hug.

Buttercup feels a pair of eyes on her only to notice that Butch now leans closer toward her in order to whisper, "Who is that?"

A rare smile surfaces to her face when she catches her blonde sister's attention, "Please introduce our guest."

The light blue eyes teen gently pops her forehead with the palm of her hand, stands off to the side, and introduces her as, "Everyone this is the Goddess herself, Kaylee. She's the Top over at the Maiden Fashion Institute.

"Hi, everyone," Kaylee cordially greets the group with a tilt of her head and a smile that beams pure happiness.

"But she's so…" The raven haired male speaks up only to halt due to a physical blow against the side of his ribs.

"What was that for?" He was breathlessly challenging while he clutching his rib cage and catching his breath.

The orange haired girl then diverts her eyes from the POKH team until they land on the back of a brunette teen that remain eerily quiet.

"You would think with the nickname Discord, he wouldn't know how to promote harmony among others." Kaylee genuinely jokes as she giggles into the side of her hand at the sight of the young man.

The sight of another maiden enters in their view in order to acquire her Top for a brief meeting among the girls.

Kaylee then nods her head, orders her subordinate to "give her a few seconds", faces the POKH team and verbalizes, "It was nice meeting you all. I hope we don't have to face each other too soon in the tournament."

As they watch the two girls walk away, Brick suddenly thinks of a question to pose to the girls, "Wouldn't the team acquire a penalty if the Top didn't fight at all?"

"Depends on the squad. The goal is to acquire majority or four out of the five fights." Buttercup supplies a response to his inquiry.

"Although it's a six man squad, only five people potentially have the chance to fight. The sixth and final matches are mainly used to break an earlier tie break and usually only occur between two strong teams." The orange haired teen clarifies why the DFMT requires six fighters on the roster.

He eventually concedes, "I see."

"Since we are a six man squad, who makes the line up?" The blonde male curiously wonders who determine which position they would fight in.

This time the raven haired teen briefly chuckles, peers over at him and confidently reveals, "Primarily the managers do, along with the assistance of the captain, _naturally_."

"What?!" Butch shrilly shrieks once he manages to catch his breath after being elbow by Buttercup from earlier.

"So Midori is in control of something that important, huh?" Brick poses since he could not mentally envision Midori with that much responsibility on her shoulders.

"You need something?" Her voice breaks through their conversation because someone recently mentions her name.

"She's in charge of the lineup plain and simple." Bubbles proudly declares while she gently pats her back, leans forward, wags her finger, and asserts. "Don't be fool either. She's a whiz at dealing with numbers and forecasting."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Butch utters in disbelief while he examines the red head girl locate a seat amongst them.

[ **BELL & GANG**]

"I don't think we'll be able to have our main base of operations here." Prince promptly speaks up right before Lucas and Argos enter inside of their hotel room.

They notice that Bell was still in the love seat with an open magazine in her lap except her eyes were now on them.

"We got to find a more off-site location." He mentions before he stands to his feet and shuffles over to the balcony.

"Yo Lucas…go get a map of this area." Prince orders with his back towards them as his eyes watch the bodies that move around the pool.

Argos glances over to his friend and deliberately advises him to "Stay out of sight, too", which earns a " _tsk_ " of his tongue.

"What's on your mind?" He then poses to the young man, presently on the balcony, as to what was currently going on in his mind.

Prince merely ignores the question when he needles, "Security is pretty tight this year. Why didn't you do this last year, Bell?"

"It would've been perfect timing! You would've been the perfect X factor to take down Pokey Oaks, Buttercup and Tia B. Gardner." He exclaims as he faces her with his hands gesture in her direction once he makes an 'X'.

Bell lifts an eyebrow at the young man before she curiously probes, "Tia? Was she your girlfriend too?"

An expression of disgust briefly passes across his face when he waves his hands in front of him to explain, "Oh no, no more like an annoying big sister. I didn't get too close for the sake of the mission."

' _Interesting,'_

"Back to the matter at hand…"


	9. Chapter 9

_**Back in Pokey Oaks…**_

An orange haired woman emerges from her bedroom, sleepily trudges inside of her living room only to pause in front of her couch, and loudly announces, "Oi sleepy head…wake up!"

The lump of covered flesh eventually was stirring awake from its peaceful slumber to jokingly question, "Am I in heaven?"

Her chocolate brown eyes visibly roll at his attempt to lighten the mood before she drowsily jaws, "No, it's more like my personal hellhole."

The purple haired male finally rose from his position on the couch, stretched his tense muscles, rubbed the sleep out of his eye while he wondered, "Did we just have a _sleepover_?"

"Your makeup and nails aren't done _so_ …technically we didn't have a _sleepover_ Alma." Serena deliberately discloses since it was more of he casually invades her space, which surprisingly she did not mind at all.

"Break…" Alma verbally speaks up once he hears the refrigerator door open and close only to have his hostess quickly interjects with an index finger in his direction. "Hold it right there mister. You won't be bribing your way out of this one."

He chuckles to himself while he softly admits, "You can't blame me for trying."

"Call you later?" The purple haired male suggests once he gathers up his belongings, which was a jacket and his keys.

Her chocolate brown eyes narrow in on the hopeful expression that he openly displays while she sips her coffee.

Eventually a "Sure," slips from her mouth and earns a wide smile that beams happiness before he departs from within her apartment.

' _Nevertheless, he was the epitome of a gentleman though.'_

[ **BELL & GANG**]

"You mean overthrowing the Council?" Bell quips, which earns a nod of Prince's head before he speaks up, "It's a pretty ambitious pan _but_ it's not the first time I've heard of sone one having a problem with the council."

"There are people in the shadows that feel that they are an oligarchy instead of a democracy that it falsely portrays itself as." He adds in along with a nod of his head.

"You don't say?" She inquiringly challenged the young man since she was unware about the previous failed coup de teat of the Council.

The teen simply leans back into his seat before he reveals, "With as much intel gathering we had to do, _she_ knew a day would come when someone would gain enough courage to fight back."

"And just who might that be?" Bell asks as she scoots forward in her chair since the boy manages to spark her interest about this person.

He suddenly faces the window, closely watches as people enter and exit the pool when he provides an answer, "The previous Head of the Discipline Committee."

"She was the one that…" The teen was unexpectedly cut off by Lucas, who aimlessly burst through the door with some papers in his hand, "I got a map."

"It's about time. Roll them out on the table." Prince orders the taller boy, who presently stands in the middle of their penthouse suite.

He watches as he aimlessly tosses the map on the table when he overhears, "Did you find one that was before the hotel construction?"

"Do you have any idea what I had to do to get this thing?" Lucas suddenly speaks up while he repeatedly taps the surface of the map with his finger.

"It wasn't pretty I tell you." He gravely mentions as he shakes his head left to right before he begins to explain.

"Spare me the details." The leader of the Three Amigos instantly cuts him off after he plops down in front of the paper.

Bell merely observes him roll out the maps on the table, grabs a pencil to mark off spots while she mentally contemplates, _'Prince said it isn't the first time someone tried to overthrow the council.'_

Prince then physically points something out to Lucas and Argos on both of the maps, which earns a nods from Argos and a 'tsk' from Lucas.

' _People in the shadows?'_ She inwardly repeats the recently news that he discloses to her when she hears loud noises.

A brief heated argument broke out between the two with Argos being the mediator between the pair as they randomly pointed at an image on the map.

The platinum blonde's eyes tediously track their lip movements but inwardly she ruminates, _'Just who was the previous Head of the Discipline Committee?'_

"Alrighty then, you ready?" A masculine voice rouses her from her personal thoughts only to ask, "Ready for what?"

This time a smirk stretches across his face before he discloses, "Why to head to our new base of operations dear."

[ **GEN POV** ]

Ivy leisurely approaches the curly raven haired teen, who finally emerges from the Ladies room to inform her, "The results are in for Block A. Block B is on its last fight for today."

"So far so good for the first day," Athena confidently asserts as they head in the direction of the ballroom.

"Did we post the schedule for tomorrow's activities?" She was then inquiring about the posting of activities for the students to involve themselves in and around the hotel.

The red head pushes her glasses back on to the bridge of her nose when she reveals, "With the help of Kaylee and Logan, we managed to throw somethings together."

The shorter of the two girls suddenly stops in the middle of her stride and faces her companion in order to needle, "No Edward?"

Ivy releases a heavy sigh, shakes her head and gestures with her hand as she speaks, "He claimed that he wasted enough time because he was obligated to show up for the matches. Said he has an assignment of "the upmost importance"."

"I'll have to talk to him." Athena says more to herself, which sparks the red head interest in how she plans to go about such an impossible task.

"You sure you can handle that Shakespearian tragedy?" She jokingly jaws since she knows how melodramatic the purple haired teen can be on and off the stage.

Her obsidian eyes narrowed in on the spectacled girl in front of her before she confidently retorted, "Well I'm a bit of a _myth_ myself."

Ivy's lips stretch into a smirk as she gives Athena a round of applause while she declares, "Ten points earned for the well execution of a pun on one's own name."

[ **DRAKE** ]

"Block B just wrapped up, sir." One of his subordinates informs him as they venture back in the direction of the ballroom.

His green eyes constantly scope out their surroundings when he vocally notes to himself, "So all we have to do is wait to update the board and inform those that lost today about the bracket of sudden death."

"And update me on the outer perimeter." The brunette issues out another commands, which earns him a "Yes, sir,"

Drake finally reaches the double doors of the ballroom, enters inside to scope out the area and orders the guards inside, "We need men to guard the inside and outside doors of the ballroom. Plus, I need someone to cover the emergency exits."

"Are all of the doors secured?" He questions once he notices that there was nobody to monitor an empty door in the corner.

"The last one is covered." Another lead subordinate informs him when he hands him a clipboard and a pen to sign his signature.

The male cocks an eyebrow at the brunette male right before he inquisitively alleges, "Boss, you seem a bit… _cheerful_."

"The day's almost over!" Drake merrily chirps while he scribbles his signature only to overhear a "mhm" when he returns the clipboard to the boy.

"Let's get started so we can end this."

[ **BALLROOM** ]

The sound of a gong captures the audience's attention once they realize that Block B fighters now patiently rest on the benches along with the referees in ft in the corner of the mat.

"We will now reveal the winners of both blocks:" Athena deliberately pauses before Drake hands her a piece of stationary paper with the names of the winner on it.

"Block A: Armada Reform School versus Merit Boarding with Armada's victory 4-2,"

"As expected of the school that only allows 300 fighters that viciously complete in a Royal Rumble in order to determine their Top, Lieutenant and Third officer." Kaylee asserts with a smile on her face as she adjusts her plait so that it rests on the side of her head.

Aubree physically nods her head forward and vividly envisions an intense weapons battle between her team and the Armada's 300.

"Block A: Shakespeare's School of the Arts versus Woodland Prep with Woodland's victory, 1-5," The raven haired hair teen announces to the crowd the second winner in Block A.

"I see you put forth an effort this year, Edward." Logan jokingly chides the young man that sits off to the side away from the others in his school.

An "hmph" emits from the purple haired teen, who folds his arms across his chest and inwardly grumbles, "He ran away before I even warmed up."

"Block B: Lyre School of the Arts versus Oceania Academy with Lyre's victory, 5-1," Her obsidian eyes read off the card, which earns some gasps and whispers amongst the crowd.

"Maybe we should fire Princess, she ranked Logan's team as 8th best yet they defeated a top five ranked team. Oceania is the 4th seeded this year." Buttercup remarks to Blossom, who merely nods her head in agreement at the idea.

Chase quirks an eyebrow at the final result between Logan against Vincent, which leads him to think, _'Maybe our spy was right about their last briefings about LSOA.'_

"Block B: Maiden Fashion Institute versus Wayne's Research Institute with Maiden's victory, 6-0," The Head of the Council finally wraps up with the list of winners from day one as she returns the card back to the brunette male for safe keeping.

Jayden loudly huffs and physically gestures with his hands, "Why are those nerds even invited anyway? They're easy kill."

"I mean it is a battle of the refine Institutes." Vincent calmly chides with a nod of his head as he leans back against his chair.

Athena closely observes the students in the participants section when she includes, "The winners will move on to the next round while the losers move down to the Sudden Death bracket and compete in a closed off battle later on tonight."

"Feel free to enjoy the rest of the afternoon." She cordially advises with a smile on her face before she removes herself from the platform.

 _ **In the crowd...**_

"So what's the move cap?" Butch ponders aloud once the Pokey Oaks High team maneuver through the crowd of spectators and heads outside in the hallway were there was less traffic and ears present to hear their conversation.

His question speedily earns a pair of light green eyes in his direction as well as a feminine voice that answers, "It's all up to our manager."

All eyes were now on the red head that closely follows behind the group until they eventually locate a decent isolated area away from the other schools' fighters.

"Do a light workout but nothing too strenuous. Your muscles are probably wound up from sitting all day." Midori issues out her restrictions to the group as she individually assess each one of them with her own eyes.

"Anything else?" Bubbles requests if there was any additional information that the red head would like to add in.

"Eat light. Make sure it's just enough to carry over till tomorrow, okay?" Their manager also included about meals they should eat since she unexpectedly omitted it from her first set of restrictions.

"Line up?" Blossom asks the million dollar question, which seems to catch the Shaw brothers' attention.

Her green eyes speedily scan the faces of the fighters before she ultimately admits, "Haven't decided yet."

"You fine with that Butter?" Butch promptly challenges their captain's nonchalant behavior about their manager indecisive nature, which only raises his level of doubt about the teenage girl's abilities.

"Totally," The raven haired girl confidently remarks as she folds her arms in front of her chest when he hears Bubbles voices, "She was the only one who survived Francine "The Red Oni" training."

"Francine " _The Red Oni_ "?" Boomer inquisitively ponders about the name and nickname that his girlfriend just mentions to his brother Butch.

This causes Buttercup to deeply sigh, emits a 'tsk' from her lips before she suggests, "Go asked the spoil brat about her. All I know is that she retired right before her senior year, we were freshmen and Tia just assumed the Top position. It was the year we were able to compete and win the tournament.

' _She's really grown a lot from last year.'_ The Utonium sisters' silently agree in tandem as they closely watch the red head interacts with the Shaw brothers.

 _Midori, a freshman, mustered up the strength to approach a table filled with seniors when she deliberately stood in front of one particular senior girl with bright scarlet red hair._

 _Eventually she earned her attention as her sights now land on a rather meek freshman, girl who boldly approached her during her lunch period._

" _What's your name brat?!"_ _The older girl curiously demands for her name as she narrows her black eyes in order to have a better look at the girl that boldly stands in front of her._

 _She was fairly tall for a freshman, just a bit shorter than she was, yet she has the frame and built to potentially cause some serious damage...that is if she receives the proper training._

" _Mi…dori," Midori nervously stammers over her own name since the senior seems to peer directly through her eyes and into the depths of her soul._

 _An 'hmph' followed by a sarcastic response of, "And just what do you want Midori? I don't have time for sniveling especially during my lunchtime!"_

" _I…want you to…train me." The younger of the two red heads boldly demands from the teen as she firmly returns her stare back at her._

' _There's something about this girl…maybe she can become the next Top once Tia graduates in a year.' Francine inwardly envisions about the girl's potential future as the leader of Pokey Oaks High._

" _You want to undergo my training?" She inquisitively challenges as she points at her with an index finger before she crosses her legs and laces her fingers together in front of her knees._

 _Midori merely nodded her head as a show of her resolve since she could not seem to form the proper words on her own to convince Francine otherwise._

 _A smirk unexpectedly stretches across the older girl's face when she gravely comments, "It's truly not for the faint of heart."_

 _ **A few minutes later…**_

 _Midori speedily dashes down the hallway until she skids to a halt in front of a raven haired girl to excitingly hint at, "Buttercup…guess what?"_

 _A "what" emits from her mouth once she shuts her locker door in order to face her friend, who happily announces, "I'm training under Francine!"_

 _An expression of disbelief passes across her face at the news when she enquiringly questions, "How in the hell did you manage that?"_

 _The red head giggles at her friend's reaction before she proudly reveals,_ _"A lot of groveling,"_

A confident smirk materializes on Buttercup's face, who in turn boastfully declares, "She's the least of my worries."

[ **BELL & GANG**]

"Oh…this looks promising." Bell speaks up as the trio locates an abandon building cover with moss, kicks the door in and ventures through the massive structure.

"From the old map legend, it says it was a former animal sanctuary." Prince reveals to the duo as they descend down a flight of steps to what appears to be an underground facility.

"It's just screams _jungle fury_." Lucas jokingly teases once they notice empty cell blocks that were big enough to house various size animals within them.

Bell simply shakes her head at his feeble attempt to crack a joke when she informs him, "By the way Luc, animal print screams so last year."

A "whatever" and a smack of his teeth could be heard as well as something crude and offensive was grumbled under his breath.

Her white eyes closely observe the new settings as the hallway leads to what looks like a break in the hallway.

"This looks like a research facility." Bell ultimately surmised from the dust covered laboratory equipment, desktop computers, examination tables, and surgical tools that were visible all around.

"It's nothing but hunks of junk." Lucas immediately opines as he observes the broken dusty gizmos and gadgets inside of a cardboard box with "FAILURES" scribble in a black permanent marker.

Prince curiously flips through scientific journals and logs that were strum about near a white cardboard box when Bell unknowingly leans against a console and presses a circular button.

A beautiful blonde young woman with circular bifocals was clad in a lab coat visibly materializes on the screen in front of them before she speaks in a friendly tone, _"Welcome to…animal sanctuary where we seek to learn, teach and preserve endangered species."_

The large television screen sporadically airs static and repeatedly cuts the woman's words off when she discloses, _"…focuses on evolution…of a stronger species…"_

"Turns out they were trying to play God." Prince eventually reveals after he closes one of the logs that were present on the table when he includes, "Slicing and dicing DNA genetics to create a new species."

' _I should probably make a call.'_ Bell inwardly notes to herself once she reverts her sights back on to the image of the woman in front of her.

"Argos is calling!" Lucas promptly announces once he feels his phone vibrates, hands it over to the dark haired teen, who in turn answers the call for a brief chat.

He hangs up the phone before he relays the message he receives from the other line, "The tournament portion has concluded for the day. Let's head back."

' _This is really interesting.'_

[ **JAYDEN** ]

The Armada squad eventually surfaced from the break room in their uniformed scarlet jumpsuit and out into the hallway. His hazel brown eyes glance around to see a group of students in the corridor until he spots a familiar face.

The spiky brunette teen halts in the middle of his stride and addresses the group in a firm tone, "Give me a few seconds…"

Jayden speedily heads over in the direction of the orange haired teen while he deeply inhales and musters up the courage to speak, "Kaylee, I'm…"

She slowly rotates around to face him when she slightly tilts her head to the side, smiles, and states, "Congratulations on the win, _Discord_."

"Not that name again." He cantankerously grumbles at the girl from the moniker that she addresses him by as he scratches the back of his nape.

Kaylee physically rests her hand in front of her mouth as she desperately attempts to stifle giggles at his reaction to the name " _Discord_ ".

Once she catches her breath and wipes the tears from her eyes, she jokingly jaws at herself, "At least it isn't ephemeral and vain like the name _Goddess_."

This prompts him to stop with his neck, directs his sights on to the girl before he purposely follows up with, "Well…I think you're both plus intelligent."

"Flattery will get you everywhere." She playfully exasperates with a wave of her right hand up and down while the other remains on her cheek while she shakes her head left to right.

"I apologize for being such an inconsiderate jerk of a boyfriend." Jayden sincerely apologizes once he drops his hand and directly stares at the girl in front of him.

Kaylee instantly grows serious before she crosses her arms, closes her eyes, and gravely replies, "Lucky for you, I'm such a considerate and thoughtful girlfriend that I already forgave you."

[ **POKH** ]

"So its going to finally be our turn tomorrow?" Butch anxiously asks his captain as his jaw slightly ticks out of anticipation at the idea of combat.

"Yeah that is…" Buttercup unexpectedly pauses in the middle of her statement, which earns a confuse question from her counterpart, "That is what?"

"The DFMT is set up so that the tournament extends to a week. There are rest periods between the actual "fighting" segments." Blossom reveals to him as she pops in between the raven haired duo with an index finger in the air.

A pair of red eyes simply observes the trio before he verbalizes, "It makes sense though. It gives an equal chance to those who did fight that day a breather."

"I don't care about rest! I just want to fight right now!" Butch irritably shouts while he physically flexes his knuckles until they loudly pop from the buildup air in them.

"Calm down Butchie Boy, you're already a musclehead. You definitely don't want to burn any more of your precious brain cells." Buttercup teasingly suggests while she points her index finger at her temple and drops it at her side.

Her light green eyes then glance in the direction of the red head and voices, "Anyway…Midori, do you need any of my recommendations for the roster?"

"I pretty much know how you think." She confidently asserts with her hands on her hips right before she includes, "Besides, I have to go visit Princess for some final touches."

A "pft" emits from the raven haired teen, who waves the name Princess off before she wishes her, "Good luck with that sleazy ball," as she departs from the group.

"So what should we do now?" Boomer poses to the group since they have the rest of the afternoon to themselves.

"I think we should do some team building exercise for an hour or two then some down time." Blossom quickly proposes while she glances around at the other members on the Pokey Oaks High team.

Bubbles was happily clapping in agreeance prior to her verbalizing, "Sounds like a plan,"

[ **DRAKE** ]

His forest green eyes continuously peeks at the stationary card with the list of winners that was clip on to the upper right portion of the board. He then reaches out for a marker, pops the cap off and legibly scribbles in the school's name that won in their respective blocks and bracket space.

"The official first day is officially over." A feminine voice merrily remarks while she casually approaches the brunette that present stands on the wooden platform.

Drake slowly steps backwards as his eyes tediously scan the board for any potential mistakes or typos when he honestly opines, "It went pretty smooth if I do say so myself."

" _So_...what are you doing this afternoon?" The raven haired girl curiously wonders about the young man's plans for later on.

He finally caps the dry erase marker, continues to stare at the bracket, and enquiringly enquires, "Hm?"

"What are your plans for the rest of this afternoon?" Athena slowly repeats her question with slight modifications since he did not hear her the first time.

Drake simply scratches the side of his cheek before he snaps his finger as a means to recall what was on his to do list, "Check on the patrols and probably visit or rather I should say bother Midori for a little while during my break."

Her obsidian eyes visibly roll at the girl's name when she folds her arms and astonishingly needles, "You're really smitten by her?"

" _Smitten_? Old English much?" The brunette teasingly jokes about the etymology of the word the raven haired girl uses after he chuckles at that one particular word.

"Oh, whatever! Just make sure you check out the ballroom later on too. Some of the Tops have an assignment to complete for tomorrow that is due tonight so they're exempt from curfew." Athena dutifully reminded him along with a 'tsk' of being teased.

A pair of green eyes sharply peeks in her direction only to hear the confirmation from him, "Aye captain,"

She frustratingly shakes her head while he carefully scales down the set of steps and leisurely strolls in the direction of the exit.

"Hey…" Athena suddenly calls out to him once she remembers something important that she wants to personally ask him about.

" _El Diablo de Tridente,_ what is that?" She inquisitively probed about the name she overheared from yesterday but instead it came out as, "Nevermind,"


	10. Chapter 10

[ **2** **nd** **Floor** **Conference Room** ]

The brunette teen pushed through the unlocked wooden door of a conference room with a taped plastic sign "SECURITY ONLY" visibly displayed on it.

His green eyes instantly scope out the individuals in the area as a means to count and double check that only his gang members were presently in the room.

"So what's the deal with calling us so early in the morning?" One of his subordinates wearily complained while his head rested on top of folded arms.

His question sparks a rise from the rather sleepy crowd when another masculine voice irritably pipes up, "Yeah, I thought we had an off day today?!"

"Listen here, just because the _participants_ have an off day doesn't mean that _security_ does," The teen sternly reminds them as he approaches the white board that was in the office space.

His response earns audible sighs and groans before someone else pops the million dollar question, "So exactly why did you sign us up for this gig again?"

"Probably because one of these cuties caught his eye," One of them boldly alleges with a nod along with a wink of their eye in order to get a rise out of his comrades.

Drake merely rolls his eyes at his crew, who then proceeds to bombard him with more questions about his potential love life, "Oh really? Which one is it boss?"

' _Surprisingly, it's the one that doesn't even want to look my face.'_ His inner voice provided an answer to the inquiry until he momentarily rid himself of thoughts about Midori.

"That's not the reason why I decided to do security for this tournament or become the Head of the Discipline Committee." Their boss was irately asserting as it seems to quell their teasing about his potential crushes at the tournament.

"I want Cram to attend the DFMT not as security detail but rather as a _participating_ school." He finally revealed as to why he assumed the position he currently occupied.

The brunette leans his body closer in until his palms lay flat against the surface of the table while he adds, "And if doing this crummy job can help us earn some brownie points in our favor then I'll do it."

A collective "Oh," was heard from his subordinates once their boss disclosed the real reason why he vouched for them to act as security for the tournament.

"And so far, it's going according to plan. That's if you goofballs don't mess it up." Drake calmly retorts while he straightens to his original height as he peers down at his hand.

He then tightly balls it in to a fist, gazes back up at his family and asserts, "Besides, I've been itching for a good fight ever since we got here!"

That was all his subordinates needed to hear from their leader that he ultimately planned to milk the situation for their favor.

"We'll do our boss then." The group confidently convey their full cooperation for the plot.

A smirk surfaces across his face when he excitingly says, "Good because today's a fairly busy day. Now if you'll direct your attention to the board…"

"Here's today schedule," The young man then flips down a piece of chart paper with times as well as a list of activities that correspond with that specific time.

"It seems pretty easy compared to yesterday." One of them verbally admits after they process the length of this particular day, which earns a, "Tell me about it,"

' _Looks like I finally got everyone on board,'_ Drake mentally assumes from the expression that was present on his gang's faces.

"As usual fellas, let's do our best."

[ **GEN POV** ]

"Aloha, Jayden and Chase," Vincent cordially greets the pair with a nod of his after he enters inside of the room that offers the DFMT participants free Continental Breakfast.

"You already took a dip in the pool?" Chase jokingly chides at the boy before he stuffs his face with a piece of waffle.

"A morning swim helps clear my mind." The ultramarine haired teen admits with the white towel drapes over his wet head while he leaves a trail of pool water on the floor.

"Man, you're a freaking fish!" Jayden proclaims as he points his fork at the young man, who presently stands in the buffet line.

"That's a compliment for me. _But_ …how's Kaylee, Jayden?" Vincent curiously poses to him after he joins them at their table with his breakfast in tow.

"Yeah Jay, how's Kay doing?" The blonde purposely reproaches after he cuts his eyes over at his brunette companion.

An expression of rue openly materializes on his face until he hears, "Can you believe that he forgot to greet his own girlfriend the instant he got here?"

Turquoise eyes widen in disbelief at his friend's lack of attentiveness to his girlfriend until he includes, "He went to go work out instead. But she was completely livid in her usual manner."

"Chase!" The spiky brunette irritably grips after he roughly slams the butt of the fork against the surface of the table.

His honest reaction earns a smile from the teen boy along with a reprimand of, " _You_ were the one that neglected your duties as a boyfriend."

"Speaking of boyfriend duties…how's it going with you and Aubree?" Chase deliberately redirects the topic of conversation on to their new guest, who eats a rather hefty meal of waffles, eggs, sausages and grits.

"I mean we only really just started to date so…" Vincent was mumbling due to a piece of waffle in his mouth and swallowing it.

He then nervously chuckles before he sincerely admits, "I'm still shocked, she even agreed to go out with me."

"You made me lose out on $20 bucks, man!" Jayden suddenly revealed with a roll of his eyes and a visible pout on his face after he dropped his chin on the palm of his hand.

A "what" slipped from the swimmer's mouth at the brunette's revelation that he caused him to lose a bet.

"I made a bet with Ivy that Aubree would confess her love to Edward since they're childhood friends and all." The teen discloses his specific part of the wager to the young men.

"What?!" Vincent shockingly uttered after he realized that his friend betted against him to lose in the first place.

"Wait...you didn't know that?! I mean did you even know that Logan attended the same middle school with them?" Chase inquisitively probes based on the expression of surprise present on the ultramarine teen's face that Aubree and Edward were childhood friends.

His turquoise eyes get a load of his companions' faces when he sincerely confesses, "Well she never really…talked much about her past."

The blonde only cracks a small smile, closes his eyes and sharply jaws, "At least your girlfriend is talking to you."

"Hey!"

[ **Outside of the Hotel** ]

Buttercup deeply sighs, closes her eyes and leans her torso against the metal wire table. _'The first day is always so boring.'_

"The famous _Jade Warrior_ looks frazzled." A feminine voice promptly breaks her out of her thoughts about her present boredom.

Lime green eyes then peer up to behold two teenagers, known as Ivy and Athena, in front of her table.

"And who do I owe the pleasure of a visit from " _Minerva_ " and " _Brainiac_ "?" The raven haired teen amusingly quips at the sight of the two girls that presently stand in front of her.

Athena briefly glances at the taller teen then diverts on to the Top of Pokey Oaks High, and puts forth, "We were just making a few rounds to the Tops in order to make sure there's been no problem with the tournament."

"Ever the hands on doer approach, I see." The seated teen teasingly remarked with a smirk visible on her face.

She then confirms, "My team finds everything pretty acceptable."

"Speaking of team, I noticed you added a few new names this year." The curly raven haired teen discloses with a curious expression present on her face.

The _Jade Warrior_ merely leans against the body of the metallic wire chair before she implies, "You know how principals tend to actively recruit their preferences by any means necessary."

"Their only demand is a roster with nothing but the best listed."

"So do you at least have a respectable relationship with…Mr. Alma Zeal?" Ivy inquisitively pries about a rapport with her respective principal.

"He's a heck of lot better than most. Honesty is his number one policy." The young woman genuinely opines about Principal Zeal along with a nod of her head.

She temporarily closes her eyes while she expresses her genuine admiration for the older man, "That man prevented Pokey Oaks from becoming a reform school."

"He earned my respect because of that."

"I heard rumors of how he implemented a rigorous seven-step plan for the students of POKH."

"Once he assumed the mantle of leadership, he effectively reduced the number of disciplinary problems that plagued the school within the first three months." The red head recalled from one of many reports about Pokey Oaks High much needed change in their administration.

"Thus he was given the moniker of _Caesar_." The teen divulged the name he earned due to the radical turnaround of the school's tarnish and decayed reputation.

The tallest of the three then pushes her glasses back on the bridge of her nose when she technically spiels, "Caesar as in Julius Caesar, the general of the late Roman Republic that extended the Roman Empire before he seized and declared himself as dictator."

"That would be our principal." The Pokey Oaks Top proudly acknowledges Principal Zeal's prominence when she coyly includes, "His smile can fool even the kindest of hearts."

Her comment earns a similar smirk from the girl, who then nods her head and hastily states, "Duly noted,"

Athena then signals to her companion that it was time to move along until Buttercup verbalizes, "Before you leave, there's something that's has been nagging at me lately."

"You don't mind if I ask why you chose a new Head of the Discipline Committee without so much as a consensus from the council. Do you?" She coolly contests about the sudden appointment of a new head.

The curly raven haired teen faces her once again before she promptly defends her decision, "Unfortunately, the last head of that committee just up and quit prior to our assembly to discuss the DFMT. So for the sake of time, I appointed a new Head _immediately_."

"And you decided that a leader of a violent gang from a local reform school would sit well with the others?" The Pokey Oaks Top deliberately rebuttals as she leans her torso forward against the edge of the table while she stares at the Head of the Council.

Obsidian eyes narrow in on the girl in front of her before she counterclaims, "My, my, Buttercup…is that how you truly feel about Drake Pierce or….are you just assuming the mantle for another soul?"

Ivy abruptly stands in between the raven haired teens with her hands inside of her lab coat while she pronounces, "Alright you two, simmer down."

"Based on his qualifications, past experience combined with his natural leadership skills, Drake is more than qualified for the position." The shorter teen firmly disputes in a much calmer manner than beforehand.

The short haired teen momentarily flashes a quick expression, which the taller teen catches and sasses, "She's in complete denial."

"I see." Buttercup unintentionally utters, which earns a smile from the ginger that stands in between the raven haired teens.

Ivy momentarily spares her companion a glance until forest green connects with lime green.

She then breaks her brief silence, "It's always a pleasure to chat with you, Buttercup. Maybe I'll get to see the _Jade Warrior_ in action again before I graduate."

"No promises," She brazenly mouths off with a wider smirk on her face.

Buttercup silently watches the pair depart from in front of her when she inwardly surmises, _'I think Bloss…was probably right.'_

[ **Serena's Apartment** ]

"Can I call you later?" Alma enquiringly poses to the orange haired woman after he finally gathers up his belongings.

"I would like that." Serena politely agrees along with a nod of her head.

"Oh and one more thing…" He promptly verbalizes once his charcoal grey eyes hone in on the woman in front of him.

She attempts to read what his eyes openly displays to her before she playfully quips, "What is it now, Casanova?"

"I'm glad I didn't let you fall for my father." The purple haired male honestly confesses with a rather gleeful expression on his face.

A blush unknowingly surfaces on her face before she physically pushes him out of her apartment and locks the door.

The older male merely wore a confident smirk once the initial shock of being hurried out of her residency wore off.

The young woman speedily places her back against the door, deeply sighs, and covers her face with her hand while she nervously shouts, "What was that?!"

Luckily for her, the moment did not last too long since her phone rings then "bing" from a message to "Report in".

[ **Hotel Lobby** ]

Drake overhears a familiar popular song, which instantly catches his ears as well as his attention.

' _Now where's that sound coming from?'_

The brunette eventually discovers a curly blonde teenager with a wooden acoustic guitar along with a handful of girls, young and even mature women swarm around him.

It was not long until he identified the blonde as none other than Logan Rhodes, the Top of Lyre Schools of the Arts.

His forest green eyes curiously observe how he naturally interacts with the different age group of females.

The teen mentally analyzes the young man's consistent reaction with each specific age group.

 _'A warm smile for the little girls, a gentle touch on the arm for the young women, and an honest upfront attitude for the mature ones,'_

' _It's almost like he can read their minds!'_ He inwardly marveled at the fact that his action earned an even eager reaction from the opposite sex.

The brunette gravely takes under consideration, _'I absolutely must learn his secret if I plan to get any further with Midori.'_

' _Alright Drake, you got this!'_ His inner voice confidently determines as his body advances closer to the boy.

"That was an awesome set man." Drake sincerely commends the young man on his performance.

Logan carefully slings the guitar until it reaches his back in order to carry on a conversation, "Ah thank you. I tend to play the first thing that comes to mind."

"Now I see how you earned the nickname _Apollo_." He genuinely regards after he senses a rather strong aura around him.

"It's a natural gift. Music touches and connects souls with each other." The curly blonde affirms and gestures to his audience that unhurriedly dissipates from in front of him.

A wide smile stretches across his face as he waves bye to a little girl while he discloses, "If you can read the mood, all you have to do is follow where the strings led."

"Okay, so I have a situation with this beautiful girl right now." The brunette instantly cuts to the chase about his personal situation.

Ruby red eyes land on him as he articulates a "Lucky".

"I know right. But anywho, I wanted to tell her about my new position but she wasn't at home during the time." The teen proceeds to recount his problem on to the young man slightly in front of him.

"Now she was mad because she thought I did it on purpose but I really didn't though. So I tried to apologize, which ended in the elevator doors being closed in my face."

"After a while, I decided to go and apologize but I felt as if I pushed my luck when I hugged her." The young man made known the steps he took to rectify the position he was previously in.

"Did she accept the apology?" Logan asks, which earns a nod along with a verbal response of, "Shockingly yes,"

"Good. You made it out of the doghouse then." He renders about the male's progress with this beautiful yet stubborn young lady.

Forest green eyes temporarily show hurt as the teen comes out with, "Yet, she's still cold towards me."

The curly blonde was processing and conjuring up possible solutions before further probing, "Have you ever asked her what she's comfortable with?"

His sights sudden land on the fair skinned teen, which was a clearly response to his question.

"I thought so. All you have to do is establish some common ground between the two of you."

"Common ground, eh? Alright, I think I can do that much." Drake insists on at least being able to find a happy medium with Midori.

"Hey man, thanks for the advice." He graciously thanks the Top of LSoA for sparing his precious time to listen to his woes as well as the sound advice he suggests for him to use.

Logan simply nods his head while he genuinely regards, "No problem at all."

"I feel pretty crappy if I suddenly dumped my relationship problems on to someone without a proper introduction," The brunette aimlessly scratches the nape of his neck once he realizes that he never introduces himself.

The teen then extends his right hand out while he cordially greets with "Pierce. Drake Pierce" to the curly blonde, who politely accepts the gesture, "Logan Rhodes, nice to meet you."

[ **Hotel Cafe** ]

"Your brows are going to permanently furrow together if you don't stop with the glares, Ed." A familiar feminine voice playfully chides with a visible smile on her face as he drops his quill onto his notepad.

"And to whom should I punch for the displeasure of this conversation with you, Aubree?" He drearily grumbled at the sight of a girl with two curly auburn ponytails held by a white floral barrette in to a larger one.

"Blame the Fates, for they have predetermined such a _torrent_ meeting between two good friends."

"Besides, the doom and gloom persona doesn't really work on me." Aubree causally downplays along with a wave of her hand after she occupies a seat directly next to him.

Gray eyes visibly rolled at the presence of an unwanted guest while he gripped, "And I see that your roguish behavior still reminds me of Beatrice in " _Much Ado About Nothing_ " or rather I should say Vincent is your Benedick."

"Hn, that's more up Kaylee and Jayden alley." The teen girl easily comebacks with before she retorts, "Those two are far worse in bickering than Vince and I."

"Oh goodie, _pet_ names!" The curly purple haired teen feigned excitement as the quill tip frequently tapped against the blank pages of his pad.

"What's next, hm? The unceremonious manner of combining your names since you're courting each other." The older of the two was providing a snarky comment about labeling a couple based off of their names.

Her sights hone in on her childhood friend before she honestly admits, "Actually, I've been thinking about that…something like _Vinbree_ or _Aubcent_."

"Those are absolutely horrible!" He hastily renders his opinion about the two names she just presents as an example.

"Oh yeah? How about _Jaykay_ or _Kayden_?" The young woman offers up more suggestions on possible name combinations between the two.

A sparkle brightly twinkles in her eyes after she considers the latter of the two and exclaims, "Oh, I like the sound of the last one!"

"Instead of _Huntress_ , they should call you Honey badger. You just don't stop, huh?" Edward rhetorically snaps as he tightens his hold around his notepad from irritation.

Her violet eyes blatantly glare a hole in to the young man in the love seat until she firmly asserts, "Only those that have battled me with all their strength earns the right to call me that."

' _Good…I got her to go away.'_ He happily thought as he watched the auburn haired teen departed from within his sights.

His sights now focus in on the assignment from his teacher, which presently leaves him in a serious stump.

' _Now…what should I write about?'_

" _Besides, the doom and gloom persona doesn't really work on me."_ The young man recalls his childhood friend's description of his personality.

' _Doom and gloom, huh?'_

Before he even knew it, his pen started to effortlessly glide against the blank parchment.

[ **Poolside** ]

Bell leisurely struts out on to the pool area, locates a spot not too far away from the crowd and saunters over with a placid expression on her face.

Movement from the corner of her eyes instantly catches her attention.

White eyes soon beheld a teen girl with orange hair styled in a goddess braid clad in a funky bright multi-print one piece.

The identity of the girl brings a maleficent smile on her face. "Fancy running in to you here, _Kaylee_ ,"

"And you are?" She confusingly questions before Bell briefly removes the sunglasses until she eventually recalls, "You're the girl from the lobby."

"Please…call me Bell." The platinum blonde introduces herself to the young woman as she settles in an empty lounge chair.

"I see you acquired a bit of…facial makeup." The pale teen comes out with after she observes the slight abrasions that peppers her face.

Kaylee deeply sighs, glides her fingers across the surface of her face, and whispers, "I wish."

"But these few scars were from my match yesterday." She revealed exactly how she acquired them before she shrugged off her previous dampen attitude.

Her white eyes widen at the admission of her companion recently being in a fist fight, "I didn't know you were a _fighter_?!"

"Yeah, one of the best! Or at least that's what my girls would tell me to cheer me up!" The orange haired girl proudly proclaims what her girls would routinely tell her whenever she was sad.

"To be completely honest, I'm not the best at hand to hand combat. My skills lay elsewhere." The teen mysteriously hints that there was more to her than visibly meets the eye.

' _Hm, she might be useful.'_ Bell silently considers while she readjusts the brim of her wide light brown sunhat.

They soon witness a child scarily shouts, "Mommy, it's following me," while the youngster repeatedly points to the dark image on the surface.

"It's called a shadow, baby." The mother dutifully informs her child about the "it" that constantly follows them around.

"Now that was interesting, a child seeing his shadow for the first time." Bell quietly observed Kaylee's facial expression shifted the moment she mentioned the word 'shadow'.

"What do you think about them?" The platinum blonde was finding herself asking the girl off to her right who was confuse by the question.

"About shadows that is," The teen clarifies about what the "them" stands for.

A smirk was unknowingly creeping onto her face when reciting, "They're just a mere reflection of the person's true self."

"Really now..." Bell's voice trails off while she appericates the sun rays warm against her skin.


	11. Chapter 11

[ **POKH** ]

Six members of the Pokey Oaks High team leisurely venture over to a wooden hexagon-shape gazebo that is directly between the pool and nature trail.

Their sights were making out the other two members of their squad currently underneath the roof and waiting patiently for their arrival.

"Alright everyone, form a circle." Midori abruptly orders once they were within earshot. This then prompts them to exchange looks of confusion at each other.

"Make sure you are shoulder to shoulder facing towards each other." She adds in while she lifts her index finger in the air and momentarily closes her eyes.

Eventually Buttercup's voice breaks them out of their personal thoughts when she sternly declares, "You heard the woman."

"Now, stick your right hand out…" The straight red head instructed only to have Butch rudely interrupted her with, "And do the hokey pokey,"

Lime green eyes instantly cast their sights in the direction of her counterpart before she snaps, "Really Butch?!"

"She was the one that set up the joke. I just gave it the _punch_ line, Butter." He merely downplayed his early comment with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Not the puns _again_." The raven haired teen irritably grumbles along with a shake of her head.

Before the young man verbally responds, one of their siblings audibly clears their throat in order to return their concentration on to Midori.

"Alrighty then, use your left hand to grab another hand _but_ from a different person instead." Their manager directs them after they extend their right hand to the person across from them.

Her obsidian eyes briefly study their circle until she eventually regards, "Excellent! You all look good and tangled."

"Now without releasing any of your hands, untangle yourselves in five minutes." Midori explains the rules of the exercise while Princess punches in the number five next to the minutes on her phone.

" _What_?!" The presently tangled group of six shockingly shouted after they heard the rules to the activity.

However, their shout fell on deaf ears since the red head loudly yells, "Begin!"

The two red heads were amusingly watching as the six were attempting to completely untangle themselves all while maintaining their grasp on their respective person.

"This seems pretty fun!" Butch cheerfully deemed since he was currently pressed against Buttercup's rear.

Lime green eyes visibly roll at their position when the teen hastily exasperates, "Except your armpits stinks!"

"Butch, have you ever heard of _deodorant?_ " Bubbles politely suggests since her head presently rests under his right arm where the stench heavily emits from.

The orange haired male clears his throat and dutifully advises, " _Ahem_ , let's focus on the task at hand."

"Whatever you say Mr. Nerdtron 1000," His brother sarcastically grips after Buttercup's body suddenly moves from in front of him.

"Hey!" He jaws.

"What? It was funny _Mr. Nerdtron 1000_." Blossom jokingly retorted as she utilized the moniker his sibling recently bestowed upon him.

"See…even your girlfriend agrees with me." The raven haired male deliberately points out with a visible smirk present on his face.

"Brick's right though." Their captain's voice audibly interjects between their conversation in order to remind them, "We need to _focus_."

"Yeah, because whoever's right arm I have is pulling my arm out of my socket." Bubbles wearily makes known about the pain that runs through her arm.

"Sorry 'bout that," Brick quickly offers up an apology before he slackens up his grip on the blonde female's arm.

"Four minutes," The red head announced how much time remained on the timer for them to be completely untangled.

"Can we just figure this out already?!" Boomer frustratingly jawed since it seemed as if they tangled themselves up again.

 _ **An hour passes…**_

"Sweet freaking victory!" Butch happily yells while he repeatedly pumps his two hands up in the air.

"Although it took an hour and eleven failed tries…" Midori dismally mentions the number of times that they were unsuccessful.

"Hey!" The presently untangled group of six shouted after they managed to finally free themselves from such a complicated position.

She merely shakes her head with her arms cross in front of her chest before she positively highlights, "At least, you've learned how to actively communicate and listen to each other."

"Which will be critical if we want to repeat as champs." The red head boldly surmises along with a gesture after she opens her eyes to get a load of her squad.

"So...since you all completed the teambuilding in a pretty decent time, you are free to go."

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

A handful of the Tops strategically plaster posters in the corridors that clearly display "KAROKE NIGHT" with splashes of colorful paint.

Drake was also assigned to aid in the setup of the conference room for the Karoke event later on tonight.

His green eyes unknowingly caught a glimpse of a platinum blonde teen, who passed through his line of vision until he recognized a familiar face.

"Yo, Kaylee!" The brunette cordially greets the Top of the MIT with a small smile on his face when he claims, "I could use some help here."

Kaylee merely nods her head while she goes to fetch the guys but instead follows behind the teen once she sends off a text.

[ **Animal Sanctuary** ]

Lucas roughly kicks the door open since a heavy brown box occupies his two hands when his sights land on the purple haired teen.

"Are you still reading that pile of junk?!" He angrily grips at the fact that his comrade currently stands over a heap of dusty old books.

A pair of eyes spared a glimpse in his direction only to teasingly reprimand, "Do you even _read_ at all, Lucas?"

An " _humph_ " audibly emits from the teen's mouth at the question while he merely pops the lid open on the box.

"Who even sent us this stuff?" The young man inquisitively wondered about who sent boxes to the abandoned animal sanctuary.

Prince simply diverts his sights back to the torn pages in the book when he easily concludes, "More than likely it came from Bell's allowance."

"So exactly why are we helping her again?" Lucas curiously probed about the real reason they even hooked up with the spoiled brat in the first place.

"World Domination has to start off somewhere right? Plus, it isn't cheap either." Their leader puts forth about his plans for World Domination.

"What he's trying to say is that we have to take baby steps in order to reach our goal." Argos provides further clarification to their friend as he dusts his hands off.

"I knew what the hell he meant, Argos! I'm not stupid you know." He irately snaps at the seemingly frail teen that stands off to the side.

The young man merely shrugs his shoulders while he lips, "Oh, I mean you were the one that said it."

' _Even still these journals are pretty insightful…'_

" _ **LOG POST #1009: We recently acquired a Pan troglodytes from Townsville Zoo that was extremely distrustful of humans. We plan to place him with others of his species in order to promote comradery amongst each other.**_ "

" _ **LOG POST #1011: It is up to me to give him a name since it's customary to assign an animal a name upon their admittance to our program. I'm extremely horrible with names so let's start with a letter. How about the letter J? I mean he is under my watch.**_ "

" _ **LOG POST #1121: J has made tremendous strides ever since he entered the program. He has been promoted to my lab assistant after he showed remarkable understanding of the human language.**_ "

" _ **LOG POST #1145: There was a chemical spill that involved J, who presently seems unaffected but we will maintain a critical eye over any potential developments.**_ "

" _ **LOG POST #1200: After the accident, J is now able to verbally communicate human language and occasionally outperform some of the staff. Yet, I fear that someone will catch wind of this and want to recreate the serum.**_ "

' _It's the end of this journal.'_ The purple haired male eventually realized once he finally flipped to the last page in the raggedy bound log.

' _I wonder who this J fellow is?'_ He inwardly ruminates about the potential name of this J person.

"Buzz", "Buzz", "Buzz," breaks his attention from the dusty ripped pages of the book when he reached for his phone.

[ **Gazebo** ]

"Have you given the lineup some thought since last we talk?" Princess poses to the young woman that presently stands off to her right.

"Not really," Midori honestly admitted that she hardly spared any thoughts about their roster.

She briefly closes her eyes, deeply sighs and inwardly groans, _'Someone has made it their mission to keep me distracted.'_

"But I wanted to see how they would respond to the teambuilding exercise before I solidify any positions for tomorrow." The straight red head claims while she crosses her arms in front of her chest.

The shorter of the two merely shakes her head in disbelief as she reminds her, "I mean our opponents are " _Discord_ " and his legion of brawny Spartans."

"I'm well aware of who we have to face tomorrow. However…" The teen's voice unintentionally trailed off once she locked sights in on dark green eyes that closely watched her every movement.

"You seem rather curious about their discussion, eh _Butch_?" Blossom deliberately points out after she notices that the raven haired teen frequently glances over at Princess and Midori.

"Unlike you gals, I have my doubts about our red head manager." He honestly conveys his feelings about Midori.

' _It's not like I'm chopped liver over here! I'm the one putting my neck on the line for your guys.'_ Princess mentally grumbles at the fact that no one appreciates her work.

"Don't listen to him, Bloss." Buttercup promptly interjects after she momentarily halts in her stride and faces her sister and Butch.

"He thought he figured Midori out instead she threw him for a loop." She was promptly explaining why the young man was having such a hard time believing that their friend is extremely adept at her position.

Pink eyes gaze over at the male while she softly utters, "I see."

"Besides, _we_ know who she trained under in order to be prepared for this." Her sister emphasizes the word "we" since he was fairly new to Pokey Oaks High.

An image of an older teen with long spiky scarlet red hair swiftly surfaces to the forefront of her mind when she recalls her name, _'Francine, the Red Oni of Pokey Oaks,'_

"Midori is the least of your worries, Butchie boy." Buttercup confidently remarks, which earns a terse nod of Blossom's head.

 _ **With the other members…**_

"I'm glad we got through that exercise without yanking each other's arms out of place." Boomer was cheerfully exclaiming while rotating his arms until popping it from being tense.

Bubbles facial expression contorts when she unenthusiastically refutes, "Unlike you two, you didn't have to directly deal with Butch's terrible armpit odor."

The two brothers' chuckle at her expression and tone, which earns a comment from her boyfriend, "I forgot to warn you about that, Bubs."

Red eyes then causally scope out their current setting only to render, "Even still, it's pretty empty for an off day."

"Probably for now, I'm sure you start to see traffic pick up soon." She mysteriously hints, which prompts the brothers to face each other.

"What makes you so sure?" Brick promptly follows up with once they realize that she was now a few feet ahead of them.

A smile surfaces to her face right before she points an index finger at a nearby wall and waits for their sights to divert in that direction.

They noticed a rather cartoonish poster with the words "KAROKE NIGHT" splayed across a dark colored background.

"Looks like we'll get to have fun after all,"

[ **Conference Room** ]

Ivy eventually enters inside of the room with a grey cart full of orange plastic cords along with her personal laptop.

' _Let's get this hooked up!'_ She inwardly encouraged herself once she rolled up to the sectioned portion that represented the stage.

The red head diligently works while Logan leisurely steps foot inside of the office space with two rather large speakers on his shoulders.

"Hey, Ivy," He called out as he approached her with the rather heavy amplifiers in tow.

Green eyes roam over to her left until she recognizes a familiar blonde with straight hair that easily totes two large pinces of equipment.

"Logan," The teen cordially addresses him by his name while her fingers continue to press the keys on her keyboard.

A small smile materializes across his face after he places one speaker in the corner, observes her position, and says, "I see Athena has you working hard as usual."

"I don't mind." She simply asserts while her sights hone in on the bright screen of her laptop and logs in to her own personal Wi-Fi.

The young man inquisitively poses "So are you excited for tonight?" while he carefully slides the other speaker in the adjacent corner.

"I'm not a really good singer so...nope." The young woman bluntly discloses along with a tilt of her head in order to check out her connection.

Ivy audibly sighs, drops her shoulders, and somberly predicts, "But knowing Athena, she'll probably make us Tops perform against our own free will."

"Good point." Logan ultimately agrees to her comment while he purposely plugs in a cord and flips the on switch for the speakers.

' _Come on Logan, think of something else to talk about man!'_ His inner voice encouragingly chides its owner at his apparent lack of conversational skills with the red head.

"I just hope that there isn't any technical mishap or it'll be my head on a golden platter." She was begrudgingly portraying while her fingers was gracefully gliding across the keyboard.

A nervous chuckle emits from the young man when he honestly renders, "That's a bit drastic, don't you think?"

"Good point." The red head instantly agreed to his comment with a similar smile present on her face.

"Oh…it looks like everything is going pretty well." Athena surmises once she observes Ivy, Logan and Drake amble about the conference room.

"Dr…" She was about to greet him since he was making a move in her direction.

The brunette immediately departed from the space without so much as a word or a spared glance in her direction.

"Talk about a _cold_ shoulder." The WRI Top coyly remarks along with a few giggles at the reaction her friend receives from her crush.

"Shut up Ivy!"

 **[Fort Jackson]**

"Sir," Serena immediately saluted her superior officer upon her entrance inside of his office and waited for him to acknowledge her.

"It's been a minute since we last chat, hasn't it?" He casually mentions with his eyes hone in on the papers that presently grace the surface of his desk.

"Well…I've been pretty busy with three teenage boys." She honestly admits while her consciousness inwardly chimes in, _'And a very charismatic suitor too,'_

"I saw you rather enjoyed yourself during their Chariot Race. You even broke into the radio that they provided to us." The older male reveled once he settled the sheet of paper on to a smaller stack once he signed the bottom portion.

"All in the duty of being a radio referee." The orange haired woman proudly states with a terse nod of her head forward.

"I called you in because Bell's diagnostic report came back and I wanted you to keep up with her progression." He finally reveals the reason why she presently occupies his office.

"Plus, it seems as if she decided to take a vacation from school." General Malone adds in along with a silent sigh from his mouth.

"She took a _vacation_?" The young woman confusingly questions since technically school was not out for the summer.

The gray haired male nods his head before he provides further clarification, "Being a general affords you a pretty decent salary, but not one for an extravagant spender such as my daughter."

"I see." She was audibly murmuring while cutting her eyes away from the man in front of her.

"I'm sure she'll more than likely grow out of it sir." Serena confidently reckons about the platinum blonde's potential growth from a spoiled brat.

' _But_ _I highly doubt it,'_ Her inner voice adamantly denies its owner claim about the teenager will grow out of it.

"I'll take your word for it then."

The Special Officer then clears her throat before she proposes, "Sir if you don't mind, will it be okay if I access Bell's history?"

His burly body unintentionally stiffens at the request until he eases in to the idea when he verbalizes, "You probably won't find any thing, since Bell wasn't her birth name."

"You'll do best by probably searching for her original name: Tia B. Gardner." Gen. Malone advises what name to search for in the files while he leans against the back of his seat.

"Thank you sir,"

 _ **Hours later…**_

The conference room was jammed packed with participants on the floor while some casually stood alongside the walls.

"Good evening!" A curly raven haired teen eagerly addresses the crowd with a microphone in her hand and a wide smile on her face.

"I hope you all are ready to have some fun because…it's _Karaoke Night_!"

"We currently have a signup sheet with a limited amount of spaces since we didn't want to make this an all-nighter." She informed them after she pointed to a table with the typed boldface print " **S** **IGN-UP** **HERE** ".

"In order to promote participation, the Tops of each school are required to perform a solo, duet, and a group performance." The young woman reveals the stipulation for a specific group of individuals.

' _Ivy was right!'_ Logan promptly muses before his sights eventually locate the red head amongst the busy crowd due to her circular glasses.

She merely directs her sights in his direction, cracks a smirk and mouths, "Told you so" at him.

"So without further ado, our first performer hails from Woodland Prep," "Give a round of applause for Aubree, the _Huntress_!"

"Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here everyday

You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where

we play

If you got a hunger for what you see, you'll take it

eventually

You can have anything you want, but you better not take it from me."

"Now, we have a group performance from WP!"

"So exactly who idea it was to have a Karaoke Night again?" Chase enquiringly wondered, which one of them decided on this particular event.

"Athena wanted to promote a sense of comradery regardless of school affiliations." Jayden puts forth before he adds, "Its best done through bonding activities such as this."

"Give these animals lovers a warm round of applause!"

Her sights hone in on the crowd while she gestures, "He's the living embodiment of sand, surf and sea! Welcome our second Top from Oceania Academy, Vincent!"

"Fantasy

It gets the best of me

When I'm sailing

All caught in the reverie

Every word is a symphony

Won't you believe me?"

The Head of the Tops briefly stands off to the far right side to air, "OA will now entertain us with their group song."

"He would've sound better, if he was in the shower." Brick bluntly judges the teen for his rather tone deaf performance.

" _Brick_ …" Blossom angrily hisses at the young man to her left about his rather rude comment towards one of her friends.

"What?! I mean it's the truth." He firmly defends his opinion about the young man with his arms in front of his chest.

"Know for reeking a bit of havoc and discord on the field, let's hear it for Jayden, the Top at Armada Reform School!"

"This is the sound of my soul

This is the sound

Always slipping from my hands

Sand's a time of its own

Take your seaside arms and write the next line

Oh I want the truth to be known"

"And of course ARS will do a group performance since they're all for one, one for all!" Athena enthusiastically shouts from the front row of the crowd.

"Kaylee is one lucky girl! Her boyfriend just sang his heart out to her. Isn't that just romantic Boomie?" Bubbles merrily gushed about the open display of affection that just occurred.

He could only nod his head and admits, "Yeah,".

The rather short teen hurriedly pops up from the front, gestures to the stage and declares, "The ephemeral and ever so graceful Kaylee is going to bless this stage and show us how she earned " _Goddess_ "."

"There'll be no strings to bind your hands

Not if my love can find your heart

And there's no need to take a stand

For it was I who chose to start

I see no need to take me home

I'm old enough to face the dawn"

"MFT will have six solos and a group act for us." The female emcee reveals the next set of acts while the room's door silently opens and closes.

' _Oh…it's a pretty nice turnout.'_ Drake was inwardly surmising based on the sheer amount of DFMT participants that were in one space.

"Oh, is it my turn already?" The curly raven haired teen unknowingly quips after Ivy dutifully reveals that it was her turn to go.

"I'll just dive right into it then."

"But we don't have to be

I'm bad behavior but I do it in the best way

I'll be the watcher of the eternal flame

I'll be the guard dog of all your fever dreams

I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass (glass, glass)

I try to picture me without you but I can't"

She politely bows during the crowd's applause before she broadcasts, "Olympia Academy will be performing three solos, two duets and a group presentation."

"So Butter, what song are you planning to sing?" Butch curiously poses about his counterpart's choice of song.

A " _humph_ " emits from her mouth when she coyly utters, "Just watch and see."

"This dude has an insane need for speed or else he wouldn't be dubbed " _Flash_ "!" The hostess recites right from an index card.

"Come on up, Chase from the Merit Boarding Academy."

"You shouldn't have to sell your soul

In black and white

They really really ought to know

Those one track minds

That took you for a working boy

Kiss them goodbye"

"So it seems as if there's no additional performances from MBA, which means we'll take a brief intermission!" The short teen proclaims the start of an interlude since she senses some restlessness from the crowd.

 _ **Ten minutes later…**_

"It seems as if you're really getting in to it up there," Ivy was deliberately mentioning after approaching the girl at the front of the audience.

The hostess wearily sighs and makes known, "Someone didn't volunteer to be the emcee so I had to pick up the slack, _again_."

"That's your cue." The red head was lipping after spotting one of the Disciplinary Committee member hastily retrieving her from the hallway.

"So what better way to kick off the second part of Karaoke Night than to invite the reigning champs, Pokey Oaks High Top, the " _Jade Warrior_ " herself, Buttercup!"

"I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation

You're living in the past, it's a new generation

A girl can do what she wants to do and that's what

I'm gonna do

An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation

Oh no, not me,"

"How'd you like that?" Buttercup curiously poses to her counterpart after she energetically bounds off the stage.

Butch merely shrugs his shoulders and casually belittles, "The typical teen rebellious choice,"

Boomer: "I want you to breathe me"

Bubbles: "Let me be your air"

Boomer: "Let me roam your body freely"

Bubbles: "No inhibition, no fear"

Boomer: "How deep is your love?"

Bubbles: "Is it like the ocean?"

"Knock 'em dead, bro!" Boomer excitingly encourages his raven haired brother once he passes the microphone over to him.

"She's a lover, baby and a fighter

Should've seen her coming when it got a little

brighter

With a name like Dani California

Day was gonna come when I was gonna mourn ya

A little loaded she was stealing another breath"

"Not bad…" Brick sincerely commended his brother on a fairly decent act even though he barely held the right note.

"Now you'll never see

What you've done to me

You can take back your memories

They're no good to me

And here's all your lies

You can't look me in the eyes"

"That was pretty intense." Midori nervously renders once she casts her sights away from the orange haired teen while she scratches the side of her cheek.

Blossom simply nods her head in agreement.

Butch: "Anything you can be I can be greater. Sooner or later I'm greater than you."

Buttercup: "No you're not."

Butch: "Yes I am."

Buttercup: "No you're not."

Butch: "Yes I am."

Buttercup: "No you're not."

"They picked the perfect song." Drake, along with a few others, innately senses that it was a rather normal conversation for the two.

Blossom: "I can't hear a single word"

Brick: "Just know you're talking, 'cause your lips keep moving"

Blossom: "Everything I thought I learned goes out the window"

Brick: "All I want is one thing"

Blossom: "You can promise castles, treasures, babies, I don't care "

Brick: "Cause for now, you're just enough to feel your breath right on my neck."

"Take us home, Midori." Blossom was softly whispering some words of positivity while handing her the mic.

Brick offers a physical response as he gently pats her shoulder for reassurance.

"Some say love, it is a river

That drowns the tender reed

Some say love, it is a razor

That leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love, it is a hunger

An endless aching need"

A pregnant silence unknowingly emits from the crowd until the sound Athena's voice breaks them out of their trance.

"They're the champs for a reason right! Let's welcome a rather intelligent mind to the stage!" "Ivy, the Top at Wayne's Research Institute!"

"Situation is (serious)

Let's cure it cause we're running out of time

It's oh, so (beautiful)

Relationships they seem from the start

It's all so (deadly)

When love is not together from the heart"

"Who knew Ivy could carry a tune?" Logan openly admires the rather mysterious red head's hidden talent

"And I'm not one for idle chit chat." Edward deliberately reminds him with his arms in front of his chest.

A smile simply surfaces across his face when he opines, "This lineup puts a bit of pressure on us school of the arts, no?"

"Unlike the hesitation I sense around here, I was _born_ to perform." The purple haired teen firmly proclaims his position on the bill.

Ruby red eyes instantly cut over to his companion and honestly remark, "I'm surprise you could pull off such an artsy cliché."

"You just might have a pair." He casually tossed in.

"Alright, settle down, settle down!" The raven haired teen desperately attempts to calm the rowdy crowd down in order to relay, "We have more performances to go!"

"Can we keep this energy up and send it our next performer, who definitely _embodies_ the personification of death and darkness." "The " _Grim Reaper_ " himself,"

"Yes, I'm let loose from the noose

That's kept me hanging about

I'm just looking at the sky 'cause it's getting me high

Forget the hearse, 'cause I'll never die

I got nine lives, cat's eyes

Abusing every one of them and running wild"

"Nothing less of the walking corpse, SSoA will entertain us with seven solos, three duets and a group recital."

"All he's missing is some tombstones and a really good smoke machine." Aubree critically offers up a suggestion for a potential backdrop during Edward's act.

"That really would've pushed it over the top." She confidently adds in.

 _'No matter how you look at it, its_ _still a bit creepy!'_ Vincent inwardly concludes.

"We made it to our final solo Top performer of the night! And let me tell you guys…it will be well worth it!" The Head of the Council excitingly announces to the audience.

"According to several myths, his voice is as golden as Midas touch!" _Minerva_ softly recites before she increases her amplitude, "Logan, please bless the stage."

"I can't get your smile out of my mind

I think about your eyes all the time

You're beautiful but you do not even try

Modesty is just so hard to find

Now I'm speechless

Over the edge, I'm just breathless"

"As one would expect from an artist, LSoA will now delight us in a similar format as SSoA."

"Logan should really think about becoming a celebrity. He's got the charisma, appearance, and talent." Kaylee honestly confesses that the young man would make it as an idol.

"I wonder if he would let me become his celebrity stylist." She was posing to herself about the potential opening for a job if Logan does indeed becoming a celebrity.

" _Eh_?!" Jayden shockingly uttered at what his girlfriend just openly wondered to herself.

"Now we will move into…" Athena briefly pauses once a member of the Security passes a message on to her. "Oh wait, I've just been informed that we have more performer…"

The lights suddenly went out, which caused a slight panic until a voice started to sing. The lights then flipped back on.

"Was it something I said or something I did

Did my words not come out right

Though I tried not to hurt you

Though I tried

But I guess that's why they say

Every rose has its thorn"

' _What is he doing up there?!'_ Two females unknowingly share the same thought at the sight of the performer on the stage.

Those that were extremely familiar with the brunette shockingly proclaims, "No way!"

"Who knew Drake could blow?" Brick was astonishingly quipping at the brunette singing his heart out.

"Before we wrap up, we have a few more duets, a Tops group performance and a final group performance that will involve everyone!" Athena reveals the last portion of the lineup.

Vincent: "You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down"

Chase: "Strike a match and I'll burn you to the ground"

Vincent: "We are the jack-o-lanterns in July"

Chase: "Setting fire to the sky"

Vincent: "Here, here comes this rising tide so come on"

Chase: "Put on your war paint"

"Dude, we sound pretty good back there." Vincent declared once he hopped off the stage and waited for his partner.

"We might just have the best duet!" Chase proudly alleges with a visible smile present on his face.

"I'd hold on that thought…" Kaylee boldly declares as she secures one of the microphones for herself.

Kaylee: "Another night, another dream, but always you"

Jayden: "It's like a vision of love that seems to be true"

Kaylee: "Another night another dream, but always you"

Jayden: "In the night I dream of love so true"

Kaylee: "Just another night, another vision of love so true"

Jayden: "You feel joy, you feel pain, Cause nothing will be the same"

"So who pulled Edward as their partner?" Aubree enquiringly popped the question, which one of them would have the unfortunate luck to be his duet partner.

Ivy leisurely slides one of her hands in her lab coat while the other rest at the bridge of her glasses when she unveils, "Why it's our very own Head of Council."

"I'm just glad it isn't me." Buttercup honestly confesses as she crosses her arms in front of her chest.

Athena: "Now here I go again, I see the crystal visions"

Edward: "I keep my visions to myself"

Athena: "It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams"

Edward: "And have you any dreams you'd like to sell?"

Athena: "Dreams of loneliness"

Edward: "Like a heartbeat drives you mad"

"It has been a pleasure to work as your partner." Athena graciously thanks the purple haired teen for his cooperation after she bows at her waist.

Charcoal grey eyes spared a glance in her direction when he advised, "You should probably sign up for some vocal lessons."

Aubree: "You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say"

Buttercup: "I'm talking loud, not saying much"

Aubree: "I'm criticized, but all your bullets ricochet"

Buttercup: "You shoot me down, but I get up"

Aubree: "I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose"

Buttercup: "Fire away, fire away,"

Jayden casually approaches the lone red head woman when he inquisitively poses, "Yo Ivy, what else have you been hiding from us?"

"I don't have to reveal all my secrets, do I?" She coyly mentions with a smirk on her face until she feels a hand on her arm.

"Looks like we're up," Logan politely interrupts the two's conversation in order to retrieve his partner.

Logan: "You got me missing you and more"

Ivy: "On the other side an angel surely"

Logan: "Held you and restored"

Ivy: "All the colours that you're made of"

Logan: "My silver, red, and gold"

Ivy: "I just wanna feel you nearer"

"Can all Tops make their way to the stage?" The fair skinned teen promptly ordered and patiently waited until she counted that everyone was accounted for. "This looks like everyone."

"And now for our grand finale…

Vincent: "I may run and hide when you're screaming my name, alright"

Edward: "But let me tell you now there are prices to fame, alright"

Ivy: "All of our time spent"

Aubree: "In flashes of light"

Kaylee: "All you people can't you see, can't you see"

Logan: "How your love's affecting our reality"

Jayden: "Every time we're down, you can make it right"

Athena: "And that makes you larger than life"

 **Author's Note:**

I do not OWN any of these songs, I just selected them based off what I thought would suit the character's personality. However, I do have a list of the songs that I used because I only used six lines from the song due to the volume of singers that participated in the Karaoke Night.

Aubree: _Welcome to the Jungle – Guns n' Rose_

Vincent: _Sailing – Christopher Cross_

Jayden: _True – Spandau Ballet_

Kaylee: _Angel of the Morning – Olivia Newton_

Athena: _Immortals – Fall Out Boys_

Chase: _Shout – Tears for Fears_

POKH: Buttercup: _Bad Reputation – Joan Jett_ ; Boomer and Bubbles: _How Deep is Your Love – Calvin Harris ft. the Disciples_ ; Butch: _Dani California – Red Hot Chili Peppers_ ; Buttercup and Butch: _I Can Do Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)_ ; Brick _Gives You Hell – All American Rejects_ ; Brick and Blossom _Sparks – Hilary Duff_ ; Midori: _The Rose – Bette Midler_

Ivy: _Poison – Bell Biv DeVoe_

Edward: _Black in Black – AC/DC_

Logan: _Lovebug – Jonas Brothers_

Drake: _Every Rose Has its Thorn – Poison_

Chase and Vincent: _The Phoenix – Fall Out Boys_

Jayden and Kaylee: _Another Night – The Real McCoy_

Edward and Athena: _Bad Blood - Nao_

Aubree and Buttercup _Titanium – David Guetta ft. Sia_

Logan and Ivy: _DYWM - Nao_

Tops Performance: _Larger than Life – Backstreet Boys_


	12. Chapter 12

The conference room soon eagerly explodes at the performance of the best fighters from each respective school's all together on stage.

"We hope you all enjoyed your off-day, but do remember that there's still a strict curfew." Athena deliberately reminds them about curfew before she adds, "We look forward to seeing everyone faces bright and early in the morning."

"That was rather...eventful." Ivy was determining from the number of willing participants for karaoke as well as the number of teams that were making up the audience.

Athena physically nods her head in agreement and positively deems, "The turnout was a great success."

"That's because we were mere puppets on your, the puppet master's, strings." Edward brazenly lips, which earns a rough elbow to his side.

"Quit being so melodramatic, Ed," Aubree instantly snaps at her childhood friend when she follows up with, "You were in your element up there."

"Art _is_ my element." He easily counterclaimed with his folded arms in front of his chest with his eyes closed.

Vincent peers around at the stage until he presumes, "So I guess…we're on clean up duty?"

Jayden slaps one of his hands against the ultramarine's teen shoulder blades and barks, "You got it bub!"

 _ **At the same time…**_

"Who knew you had lungs…Drake?" Butch shockingly enquires about his former boss ability to hold a note.

' _Where's Midori?'_ He inwardly ponders about the red head's location while he maintains the conversation, "A guardian angel helped me."

"That's _boss_ for you!" Brick teasingly jokes as he repetitively pats the brunette's shoulder with his hand before he returns his arm at his side.

Green eyes momentarily peek over in the direction of the exclusive group of teens before he automatically deduces, "Seems like Butter will be here for a while,"

"Yep, all of the Tops are on mandatory cleaning duty." Drake reveals while he continues to search for one Pokey Oaks High member in particular.

The group cordially exchange salutations with the individual, who in turn shouts, "See you guys tomorrow!"

"Midori…"

She suddenly approaches him and softly peeks his cheeks before she steps backwards with a visible blush on her face.

Her obsidian eyes cut away from his face and on to the floor once she gains some distance between them.

"Your performance was… _great_." The ginger honestly admits while her index finger nervously scratches the side of her cheek.

An expression of shock remained on his face from her earlier action but soon wore off once he realized that it was an attempt on her behalf.

A smirk was materializing while advancing forward, gently settling his hand against the side of her face before building up his confidence.

"Would you…would you join me for breakfast tomorrow?"

A pregnant silence develops between the two when the brunette's face begins to falter until his ears pick up, "I would like that."

His green eyes brightly twinkle at the fact that Midori just willingly accepted a date with him so he removed his hand from against her cheek.

The young woman turns to follow her teammates' right before she abruptly voices, "One more thing…good night Drake."

' _Say it back, idiot!'_ His inner voice instantly snaps since the girl patiently waits for his response.

"Good night, Midori."

' _I must be in a dream but if I am…please don't wake me up!'_

"Uhm…are you alright Athena?" Logan nervously inquires since he overhears a " _snap_ " then a " _crack_ " from over in her direction.

Ivy simply watches the raven haired teen and jokingly retorts with, "Tis but a maiden's naïve love spurned."

Her response earns a pair of ruby red eyes in her direction, which clearly displays amazement.

"Just because I don't attend some artsy school doesn't mean I'm not versed in Shakespeare." She coyly remarked all while she diligently worked to safely shut off the electronics.

An expression of contentment appears on his face when he comments, "You're quite the bewitching maiden if I do say so myself."

 _ **A few minutes later…**_

"Thank you for your cooperation again with cleaning up." Athena genuinely expresses gratitude toward the group with a bow at the waist.

Edward narrowed his sight on the raven haired teen before he deliberately alleged, "Exactly why did you keep us here even though there's barely anything to put up?"

The other Tops then exchange glances from the two members until she breaks the brief silence, "No ulterior motives,"

"I just wanted the others to see a cohesive unit." The young woman includes once she straightens back to her original length.

"Are those airs or a genuine wish?" Ivy curiously needles while she pushes her circular bifocals back on to the bridge of her nose.

"Although, there is something that I should've made known earlier…" The Head of the Tops says only loud enough for those around her to hear her verbalize, "I know we all have being hearing rumors that during this particular tournament someone plans to overthrow the Council."

"Have any of you heard of a group called _"El Diablo de Tridente"_?" Athena pops the question to her comrades.

Expressions of confusion, except for one Top, visibly materialized on their faces at the question that was just asked.

' _How does she even know about them?!'_ Buttercup inwardly wonders after she listens to her inquiry about Drake's gang.

"My Spanish is a bit rusty but it translates to…" Chase attempts to translate _El Diablo de Tridente_ for the group, however Ivy beats him to the punch.

"The trident's devil or rearranging it to comply with English syntax would make it the Devil's Trident."

"So does this Devil's Trident pose a threat to us?" Jayden immediately questions their leader of the group since he does not follow her line of thought.

"It seems as if they were able to invade our ranks." She solemnly asserts with an unreadable expression on her face before she proceeds with her revelation. "There's a strong possibly that they may be the source of the rumors."

Not a single word was uttered yet the shock was clearly evident on their faces from the announcement.

' _What is she even saying?!'_ Buttercup was mentally contemplating at the fact that Athena was unknowingly accusing Drake and his gang of potentially sabotaging the tournament.

"For now, we will keep this tightly under wraps until further notice. You all are dismissed." The raven haired teen gravely advises the bunch.

"What a weird name, _El Diablo de Tridente_! _"_ Kaylee amusingly chides about the gang's name as they head toward the exit of the conference room.

Vincent peers over in the direction of Chase before he jokingly teases him, "Plus, someone needs to take remedial Spanish,"

"Remember it stays between us _Tops_." Aubree dutifully reminded them that it was mummed the word about what they discussed.

' _What is going on here?!'_

[ **Animal Sanctuary** ]

"So our guest of honor has finally arrived!" Prince was melodramatically announcing at the sight of the platinum blonde teen entering inside of the sanctuary.

Her sights gaze over the building itself before she genuinely remarks, "I love what you've done to the place."

"Lucas is pretty good at cleaning, _surprisingly_." Argos teasingly makes known while he points at his friend with his palm upwards.

"Shut it!" Lucas was instantly snapping after briefly pausing in between dusting off one of the larger computer processors in the room.

She then closes her eyes and reveals, "Our benefactor was rather eager to help once I told them about this place."

"It's still a pile of junk." The one dusting was immediately downplaying with an expression of annoyance.

"I wonder would we be able to _personally_ thank such a gracious individual." Prince pondered aloud since he initially assumed that it was Bell that bought the equipment.

"Maybe…" The young woman merely comments before she discloses the reason why she was presently there, "Actually…I came to tell you all about this perfect opportunity, but I'll only need one of you."

He quickly throws one of his companions for this so call _perfect opportunity_ , "Take the chatter box with you. He can be the perfect airhead."

Lucas sights swiftly glance back in the direction of Bell once he hears about a chance to leave this dump.

"So what'll I have to do?"

"Wreak havoc," The platinum blonde simply answers.

"Now you're barking up the right alley," He was eagerly proclaiming while tightly clenching the handle of the duster.

"Tree," Prince and Argos promptly corrects their friend's statement.

Bell then lifted her right index finger before she proceeded to speak, "But you'll have to be careful, I sense that they may be tightening up security real soon."

His eyes brightly sparkle at the ideal of a covert mission, "Sound interesting,"

"Let's go,"

' _It's almost time for us to make our move.'_

 _ **The next day…**_

"Today's the day!" Butch was excitingly cheering all while continuously punching the air with his fist and repeatedly jumping up and down.

Lime green eyes physically roll at the sight in front of her when she annoyingly grumbles, "Ugh, why are you so happy?!"

The raven haired teen temporarily ceased his actions, faced his captain and calmly retorted, "Because we finally get to fight,"

"Yo Brick," Buttercup calls out for the orange haired boy, who answers with, "Yeah,"

She jabs her thumb in the direction of her counterpart while she irritably needles, "Does your brother ever think of something other than fighting?"

Brick momentarily pondered the answer to the question before he finally replied, "There's food."

"Speaking of food, what are we eating?" Boomer curiously wonders about their options for their breakfast.

Blossom recalls Midori's exact orders in regards to food, "Manager said we have to eat light."

"And by light, she means something that won't affect you later on in the match." Bubbles explained in further details once she noticed the confused expression on her boyfriend's face.

"Butch needs to intake a ton of calories because he rapidly burns it off easily." Brick reveals the reason behind his brother's insane intake of food.

Boomer was closing his eyes while shrugging his shoulders and claiming, "He's a _glutton_ after all."

"So has anyone seen our manager?" Butch eventually wonders about the location of their manager.

Buttercup lightly grazes the back of his head as she dutifully reminds him, "She's not going to reveal the roster, Butchie."

"I just want to fight Butter." He explains while a pout visibly displays on his face when he faces his counterpart.

"You really are a musclehead." She audibly huffs about the raven haired male that presently stands in front of her along with a shake of his head.

"Let's go break some necks," Brick voices, which instantly snaps his brother out of his funk and earns a retort of, "With pleasure,"

 _ **At the same time…**_

"Are you always up at this time?" Midori was inquisitively wondering while stifling yet another yawn with one of her hands.

A small smirk simply surfaces to his face before he provides a response to her question, "Only if I can sleep for two hours but _four_...now that sounds like a dream come true!"

"You seem a bit nervous." He promptly made known after he took note of the dark circles around her eyes, slouched position and lack of an appetite.

She aimlessly sifts the oatmeal around in the bowl with her spoon before she honestly confesses, "I barely slept a wink last night."

A deep exhausted sigh escaped her mouth once she ceased her action. Her obsidian eyes then peer up at her date as she openly admits, "This lineup has been heavily on my mind."

"It's your first time at the helm of a ship, right?" The brunette was curiously inquiring since it was extremely rare to see Midori seriously stressing out.

The young man merely closes his eyes, eases against the body of the chair and vocally assumes, "I bet Butchie boy been giving you a hard time too."

The ginger instantly nods her head to show that he was dead on with his assumption.

"He's like that whenever he's trying to piece a puzzle together." _El Diablo de Tridente's_ boss offers an explanation behind Butch's recent behavior.

"One thing I learned from leading people is you have to not only consider their strengths and weaknesses…" Drake briefly pauses in order to chew on a piece of toast before he finishes his sentence, "…but their demeanor and personality."

"Some are easily to read while others are a blank slate." He adds.

"It's okay to take a misstep but the only thing that truly matters is how you rebound. That within itself dictates whether or not you are victorious in the end." The brunette firmly conveys his ideal about Midori's current impediment.

"Oh crap!" The young man suddenly exclaims while both of his hands latch on to the sides of his face once he spots one of his men at the door.

The teenager solemnly regards, "Don't tell me I spent my special quality time with Midori _rambling_?!"

"You're right though." The young woman was verbalizing while dropping her spoon and standing to her feet.

Her sights narrow on her date before she graciously displays her appreciation for his time, "Thanks for the pep talk, _lad_."

"Now don't you get sassy with me lass." Drake teasingly belittles the female, which presently stands in front of him, with a wag of his index finger.

She simply chuckles at his response prior to her suggestion, "Cheer for me 'kay?"

A "humph" verbally emits from the brunette as he crosses his arms in front of his chest, and boldly utters, "Don't worry…I already planned too."

"Now, get out there and kick some asses!"


	13. Chapter 13

"I managed to get everything dusted off and plugged up the older equipment that's still some good." Argos was mumbling due to a mask over his mouth while brandishing a filthy duster.

"Let's boot it up and see what this baby can do." Prince eagerly orders while he approaches the newly install equipment, presses some buttons before the screen brightly lights up.

"So we have to set it up." The shorter of the two was commenting because the screen was requesting a username and password once a light green MJE flashes at the top right corner.

' _I wonder...'_ "Argos, do you think you can patch us through to their surveillance system?" The young man curiously probes while his fingers gracefully glide over the keyboard.

His companion pondered about the possibility until he remarked, "It's possible only if it's a closed circuit television transmitted to wireless links but I doubt that room is easily accessible because of the Discipline Committee."

At the word "wireless" the taller of the two perked up when he made known, "Why not jack their links?"

Argos simply sighs while he shakes his head to opine, "There's the multiple firewalls I'll have to burst through, by then the tournament will surely be over. Then again, we can probably directly tap in to their system."

"Can't you send one of those doofus a worm via email?" He persistently suggested.

"And potentially give away our location with our IP address?! We're not that desperate." The other teen melodramatically exclaims along with gestures to show his emotions.

The tech wiz then warns him about their major obstacle to his plan, "Besides, if that red head nerd is still in a Head position at WRI then we'll definitely be exposed."

"I mean we do have a believable idiot as our insider." The purpled haired teen confidently asserted along with a nod of his head.

The frail teen points out with a roll of his eyes, "Who'll expose himself in a heartbeat?"

"That's why you have to collect more believable idiots." He mysteriously hints with a confident smile on his face.

"If you say so," Argos muttered.

[ **Ballroom** ]

A strange male suddenly appears on the platform next to Athena, who in turn takes over while the Head of the Tops descends down the three steps.

He promptly broke his silence once he finally secured the microphone, "Welcome to the second official day of the Dragon Fist Martial Tournament, also known as the semi-finals."

"We had a thrilling opening day full of eager and strong fighters' spirits, so give yourself a round of applause." The young man briefly recaps and encourages them to congratulate themselves for such a display of passion.

"Oh…how rude of me not to introduce myself…" The teen finally realized that he had yet to introduce himself to the group.

"My name is Leone and I'll serve as your official emcee over the duration of the tournament as well as the activities on your off days."

"Less talking, more punching," Butch annoyingly recites, which only earns sweat drops plus head shakes from his family and teammates.

"So you found a host?" Ivy directs at raven haired teen, who ventures over in the direction of her squad amongst the general population.

Athena unintentionally ignores her as she glares at one particular teenager.

' _Yep, she's pissed.'_

"For our morning slot, we have Lyre School of the Arts versus Olympia Prep. Please report to the mat." The silver haired teen was providing the next set of instructions for two specific teams.

"I thought we were fighting?!" Butch irritably grills until Buttercup roughly snags his ear lobe and proceeds to drag him to a set of chairs.

"You idiot! We have the afternoon slot." She puts into word as Butch opens his mouth to contest until the announcer's voice airs, "As for our afternoon slot, we have the reigning champs' Pokey Oaks High facing off against Armada Reform High. Please sit in the roped off area."

The raven haired teen simply smirks and boldly states, "Told you so."

"Besides, we won't watch the entire fight because they give us a fifteen minute warm up period." Midori then communicates about the routine if the teams have a later match in the day.

"Plus, we may get lucky and see Athena enter in early." Blossom presumes, which earns nods from her sisters.

"I'm itching to see how the self-righteous brat handles herself at this level." Princess breaks her silence yet the team already head over to their specific area.

"Wait up, you guys!" The red head was shouting while haphazardly scrambling to follow her teammates.

The young woman begins to slight stumble forward, which threatens public embarrassment in front of her colleagues and other teams.

However, she swiftly catches herself.

[ **Serena's Apartment** ]

"You look like you've been through the wringer." Alma astonishingly affirmed based off of the woman's messy hair and disheveled appearance.

He barely avoided a hidden pile of paper that was randomly scattered about once he ventured through the living room.

His eyes soon noted that there were additional smaller stacks open along with highlighted marks throughout manuscript.

The orange haired woman was wearily rotating her head in his direction to lip, "I won't even ask how you found the boys' spare key."

"How about I make you something to wake you up?" The male politely suggests, before he earns a strain nod of her head.

"Now let's shed some light." Alma was softly muttering to himself while drawing closer to the curtains, flinging them open then unexpectedly listening to hissing sounds along with, "It's too bright!"

The visitor quickly offers an apology for his actions and soon begins to familiarize himself with the kitchen's layout along with the contents and machines.

' _Tea or coffee,'_ The Pokey Oaks principal found his thoughts at odd before he ultimately selected the caffeine.

He was audibly whistling a tune and occasionally sparing a few glances at Serena then to the shiny black metallic coffee maker.

' _I wonder what she's working on?'_ Curiosity was getting the better of him until noticing a blinking orange light.

The purple haired male carefully removes the urn by the handle, pours two cups and returns it to the slot.

"Here's your…" He momentarily halted due to the sight of Serena fast asleep against the body of the sofa.

A smirk surfaces to his face as he carefully places the cups on the small table in front of him.

The Pokey Oaks principal then searched the apartment for a blanket before he finally returned to the living room and repositioned her body so that she was completely stretched out.

He then gently drapes the thick clothe over her body when a thought soon traveles to the forefront of his mind.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

The main ballroom was deathly quiet to the point someone unknowingly dropped a pen on the ground and the sound clearly echoed.

No one moved, let alone blinked an eye at the sight before them.

Four members of Lyre were incapacitated on the mat when the referee declared Olympus Prep the winner.

However, the shock stemmed from the young lady with an unreadable expression on her face because she was the reason behind the tense silence.

' _No wonder you earned the nickname of a Roman Goddess.'_ Ivy was silently musing while adjusting her glass until they were fitting correctly over the bridge of her nose.

The injured Art students were soon carted off when they were instructed to conclude the game with a bow.

"What did we miss?" Brick curiously questions after his brother piercingly shrieks, "Finally!"

Some of the Discipline Team members swiftly rushed those members to the Medical Staff right as Olympus Prep entered their line of vision.

They momentarily halt at the sound of their Top's voice, "I look forward to the infamous _Jade Warrior's_ strength."

"Too bad I missed the rumored _Minerva_ in action," Buttercup unenthusiastically quipped with her eyes shut followed by a shrug of her shoulders.

Midori was soon sensing a pair of eyes on her as the girl was bluntly expressing, "I hope the champs are ready for the consolation prize.

A cold chill languorously crept down her spine once their eyes finally connected with each other.

"As if, we'll be repeating," The straight raven haired teen calmly asserts while the other raven haired merely nods her head before she signals for her team to follow her.

' _What the hell?!'_ Midori nervously contemplates about the awkward moment between her and Athena until a hand roughly smacks her back.

Before she could even provide a verbal respond, she feels a few more hands slap her in the back as well.

"Lead the way." Buttercup confidently remarks with her sights hone in on the mat.

 _ **At the same time…**_

Bell and Lucas finally docked at the shoreline before they casually ventured up to the hotel's reserved grounds.

"Your job is rather quite serious. You'll be a member of the Discipline Committee that deals with the…" She proceeds to relay his job description before he rudely interrupts her, "You don't have to tell me about it."

"I know the duties and responsibilities from firsthand experience." The young man assertively declared with a visible irritable expression on his face.

"At least let me gift you two things…" Bell was simply commenting while digging inside of a white Prada Crossbody to remove two objects from within.

"Is that a _wire_?" He inquisitively probes once he manages to get a good look at the items currently in her hands.

She then enlightens him while she hands over the mic, "No, it's a remote ear piece made to look like a hearing aid."

"And what am I supposed to do with this?" Lucas annoyingly gives her the third degree about the electronic in the palm of his hand.

Her blank stare locks him in her sights when she divulges, "You are going to plant a computer virus in their system."

"Here's your contact."

[ **Serena's Apartment** ]

A _groan_ escapes from a woman's mouth once she lifts her body from the couch, rubs her eyes and then stretches her stiff muscles.

She was lazily popping both of her eye open so they can properly adjust to the lighting in the room.

Her chocolate orbs meticulously surveyed the area and took noticed that the living room was thoroughly cleaned.

Even the packets of Bell's history were neatly organized along with a pack of brand new highlighters placedon top of it.

A smile stretched across her face once she realized exactly who was behind this rare feat.

' _Hell…I can't even get the boys to pick up after themselves.'_ The solider was somewhat lost in appreciation at the sight in front of her that the doorknob twists open.

A noise emitted from behind her that instantly trigged her alert mode so she deeply dug through the sofa, produced a gun and pointed it at the door.

The only distinct sound heard was, "Food" before Alma stared at a gun now aimed specifically at his chest that house his heart.

It took a minute before her brain eventually registered it as " _friendly_ " before she slowly dropped the weapon back to her side.

"You didn't seem scared like most people would." Serena surprisingly jawed about his rather eerily unruffled disposition a few seconds ago.

The male continues to approach her with a large brown sack in his possession while he honestly confesses, "It's not my first time in front of a gun's barrel."

"Besides, I would've been more surprised if you didn't have one." The purpled haired man was claiming while gently placing the bag on top of a table.

A chuckle was emitting from Serena before genuinely regarding, "You're a strange man, Alma Zeal."

"And you are a strange one too, Serena Shaw."

[ **Ballroom** ]

"For our final match of the day, we have those furious Spartans known for their 300 members filled with the utmost pride...welcome Armada Reform School!" Leone was excitingly reciting from a small index card along with a gesture in their direction.

The all-boys squad simultaneously marched toward the mat all while in a single file line with their captain upfront in order to led them.

"Poor Jayden, he's up against a strong opponent." Aubree remarks, which instantly earns a nearby retort, "He comes alive whenever the opponent is strong. That's his true strength!"

"Spoke like a proud girlfriend." Ivy positively compliments as she lifts up the screen of her laptop that sirs across her lap.

"Now is the moment we've all been waiting for! Coming to the stage _finally_ are those that bear the title as the current DFMT champs…welcome Pokey Oaks High!" The announcer was stirringly broadcasting with the same gesture, except in the opposite direction.

"A brand new squad, huh?" Chase breaks his silence because there were new faces that were not present at last year tournament.

"Most of their fighters were seniors, excluding Buttercup." Logan was divulging information while ambling over to his seat. He was just returning from checking up on the other four members of his squad.

Vincent narrows his sight on the blonde dude in the line when he recalls their introductions at the Meet N' Greet after he utters, "Right!"

Edward opted for a wordlessly expression so instead he found a decent position to watch the fight away from the chatter and the others.

"So the format is simple…first ones to reach four wins the entire match. There are no substitutions, so teams should strictly adhere to submitted rosters." The silver haired teen promptly spiels about the tournament rules to the fighters and spectators once again.

He then holds up one finger at a time while he explains, "There are four ways a match can possibly end: a submission or tap out, a ring out, the bell or the referee."

"Also in order to win a match, a fighter must accumulate 12 points. If both contestants simultaneously gather twelve then the match is declared a draw." The silver haired male points to an electronic scoreboard that was visible in front of the scorers' table.

"In cases of a draw, the rematch will occur with the next two fighters that follow on the listed roster."

The young man then expounds on if the tie break happens during the last match, "However if it's a tie breaker that occur during the sixth and final fight, then those two are the only eligible fighters left that must fight each other until a winner is announced."

"Understood?" Leone was probing about whether or not they were attentive to his speech about the regulations fot the matches.

No one really responded so he continued on with his next announcement, "If so, I'll turn it over to the refs,"

"Armada Reform, first fighter," The referee calls up while they point to the area on the mat that their school fighter should stand.

He then makes his way over toward the other team and cordially requests, "Pokey Oaks, first fighter,"

Charcoal eyes eventually peered down the line to signal for their first fighter, yet they were already in front of their opponent.

"You idiot! You have to wait for the ref!" Brick was immediately reprimanding his teammate at their lack of patience.

"He's a muscle head." Buttercup annoyingly groans aloud with one of her hands over face then shakes her head.

Bubbles could not help but to giggle at the flak Butch received on their end before she honestly vouched for him, "Can you blame him?"

"He's finally able to release that…" Boomer was unable to finish his sentence because of a " _pow_ " loudly echoing one after another.

Butch was on the offensive quick by repeatedly landing punches across his opponent's rather broad torso.

' _Damn, he racked up four points that quick.'_ Princess shockingly ruminates at the swiftness and power behind each of the punches.

He then unexpectedly takes a swift left jab to the jaw, which immediately ends his attack and forces him to drop to one knee.

"Don't take that hit! They're _three_ points!" The red head piercingly shrieked at the fact that the boy dropped to a knee from a facial hit.

She then rotates her head to the others on the sideline when she enquiringly needles, "Did anyone school Butch about the scoring system?"

"His brain was literally scrambled." Buttercup sincerely discloses while she leisurely shrugs her shoulders with her palms upward to the sky.

' _I know I should've put him fourth,'_ The POKH manager gloomily thought as the two fighters then instinctively squared up in order to seize each other up.

"You seem a lot like me." Butch overhears his foe compare him to himself so he crudely barks, "Less talk, more action,"

The raven haired male rapidly lounged at him with his right hand drawn backwards then attempted to blitz him with a flurry of punches, except it connected with the palm of his hands.

"That's old." He was overhearing hearing him exasperatingly pronouncing right before feeling him tightly gripping his fist and sweeping at his feet.

Yet, the POKH fighter's instincts were faster so his body leaps to avoid the contact, which brings a smirk to his challenger's face.

' _Come on!'_ Brick inwardly shouts after he easily flips Butch over on his side and earns three additional points for a shot to the face.

The burly teen then stepped off to the side so his adversary could recover from the impact but maintained his body at a slanted angle.

He solemnly speaks up, "I think I might've overestimated you. You're actually a lot _dumber_ than I thought."

Butch was swiftly spinning around, tackling him off his feet and pummeling him in the face until feeling the referee physically pulling him off.

"POKH-1 AR-0," The mediator officially proclaims the end result of the match between the first two fighters.

A cocky smirk stretches across his face when someone brazenly mutters, "Well would you look at that, the dumb idiot won."

Everyone on his side was positively congratulating him for securing the first victory in their favor.

' _That was too close for comfort but we got the first one.'_

"What was that?" Jayden grilled with composure toward one of his 300 that presently stood in front of him with a bruised face.

He manages to provide a response even though his lips were swollen, "I lowered my guard."

"Make sure you do the punishment for your lackadasical performance after." _Discord_ revealed the reprimands he must fulfilled due to his negligence during the fight.

"Yes sir."


	14. Chapter 14

The referee momentarily pauses in order to allow the judges to accurately score the bout between the first two fighters.

' _Can't say I didn't expect anything less from one of the three top fighters in El Diablo de Tridente,'_ Drake knowingly concluded about the end results of the match being in favor of Pokey Oaks High.

A signal was soon flash to the man in the middle of the mat, who in turns nod his head and requests, "Pokey Oaks, second fighter,"

"Armada Reform, second fighter," He was demanding while guiding to their respective team's fighter starting position.

 _ **In the crowd…**_

"Hopefully this fight will be a bit more interesting." Edward verbally regards to no one in particular as he shifts to a more comfortable position on the wall.

"For it to be the first one, it ended pretty quickly." Chase astonishingly puts forth, which earns a comment from Vincent. "Even if they are Spartans, they're still just regular high schoolers."

The referee then peers at both fighters, who signals to him that they were ready to begin. So he simply shouts, "Begin!"

The blonde was immediately assuming an attacking position while the burly dude in front of her did not move a single muscle.

"I will not raise a hand against a woman." Her opponent immediately declares with a stern expression on his face.

"But…" Bubbles ignored his comment as she attempted to land a kick to his hip but he easily caught it and completed his sentence, "I'll still find a way to incapacitate you."

He then sharply twists her ankle away from his body as he watches her wince from the sudden abnormal movement of her ankle.

Her body was presently at an odd angle to the point the pain shot up throughout her body while her adversary held on to her foot.

"Come on Bubs!" Boomer was encouragingly shouting while the teen was speedily pondering over her current options.

' _Got it,'_ It finally springs forward as she carefully positions her hands on the floor and roughly mule kicks him in the stomach.

Buttercup yelled, "Alright," while she clenched and shook her fist out of excitement at the move her sister just flawlessly executed.

Jayden then directs his attention toward his manager when he pointedly needles, "Did you set him up against a girl on purpose?"

"Even if I was to have foreseen and shifted his position, there was still a fifty-fifty chance he would have to fight a girl either way." Their manager decisively explained about the line-up that he, along with the Student Representative, agreed upon.

' _This is the worst possible matchup for Leo.'_ The ARS Top inwardly deems to himself.

The Spartans could only watch as their teammate stubbornly stuck to his values and refused to physically strike against the girl.

A shrill whistle signaled that they have finally reached the end of the match.

The scorers quickly jot down the number of hits that connects with the opponent's body while the fighters head back to their individual benches.

"What's up with that fighter?!" Kaylee frustratingly grips as anger intensely emanates from her body.

"He's a chivalrous gentleman." Logan positively regards about the Spartan fighter based off of his steadfast actions during his fight.

A " _pft_ " emits from her lips before she bluntly tosses out, "So he's just threw away a match against the reigning champs because he doesn't fight _girls_?"

"The odds were always in Pokey Oaks favor." Ivy was truthfully making know while cleaning her glasses with a cloth wipe.

She then places her circular glasses back on her face when she privately contemplates, _'But how long will it last though?'_

The referee clears the scorers' table in order to recruit the next batch of fighters, "Armada Reform, third fighter," "Pokey Oaks, third fighter,"

' _Not for long,'_ A smirk soon stretched across her face at the thought of a sudden change in the lopsided projected odds.

' _He's a decent size but…something's off.'_ Brick inwardly notes about his enemy while the two fighters shift in to their ready positions.

Midori closely focuses in on their opponent when she instantly thinks, _'I'm getting a bad vibe from him.'_

The orange haired teen already plotted his moves way before the official start of his match once he closely studied his adversary position.

He then launches in to a jab yet his move was easily block, which slightly catches him off guard.

"Clench your teeth." The male instructs as he swiftly steps in, turns his back toward his chest and throws his elbow at his jaw.

' _That was a good counter.'_ Drake privately compliments since he closely tracks their every motion for any signs of foul play.

Brick quickly gathers himself before he repeatedly blocks a sudden onslaught of combinations that consists of straights, jabs and a few uppercuts.

' _Why does this feel familiar?'_ He inquisitively ponders.

His red eyes briefly spare a glance toward the sideline only to witness Buttercup yell at Butch, "Straighten up, idiot!"

' _Except he's not a complete idiot,'_ His brain points out once his sights settle back on to his challenger. _'His moves are calculated but his weak points are exposed.'_

The red cap teen suddenly floor sweeps their legs but then hooks it around the thigh in order to clip him up.

' _He's aiming for facial shots to finish up the match quickly.'_ The boy inwardly ruminated about their next potential set of attacks.

His adversary unintentionally extends pass his reach when Brick mimics his move from earlier to avoid the jab. He smoothly rolls around the arm and follows up with a quick yet precise chop to the nape of their neck.

The official instantly counts down from ten until he finally reaches zero and declares, "Pokey Oaks High – 3, Armada Reform – 0,"

"This is bad." Kaylee solemnly uttered to herself with a slap against her forehead with distraught present on her face.

The WRI Top amusingly chuckles at the girl's bias reaction to yet another loss for her boyfriend's team so she teasingly opines, "You should have a bit more confidence in your man."

Edward audibly sighs and vocally complains, "This is rather quite boring. I should've stayed in my room."

"Pokey Oaks, fourth fighter," They listen to the mediator calls up the next fighter from the Pokey Oaks bench.

A small smile stretches across both Athena and Ivy's faces when they were privately considering, _'It's time.'_

The referee then motions for the next Armada Reform fighter to join him and their future challenger.

Excitement was immediately building at the sight of the brunette male casually approaching the blonde boy at the center of the mat.

' _Crap! This is the absolute worst possible set up.'_ The Pokey Oaks manager fretfully acknowledges once she registers the identity of Boomer's opponent as known other than Armada's Top, Jayden.

Green eyes rapidly peek over at their manager and Student Representative when she loudly hisses, "Yo, horse mouth,"

The raven haired teen waits until the red head on the far end response to her moniker to irritably snap, "I thought you said he'll fight last?"

"He's always does." Princess confidently regarded from the information she was able to collect on Armada Reform High School's roster.

Obsidian eyes narrow in on the male in front of Boomer until it eventually comes to her, "He knew this would happen...we were out smarted."

' _Oh, now this is interesting._ ' Drake excitingly quips all while his face remains neutral on the outside.

"Talk about a dramatic plot twist." Logan was remarking as everyone was observing the teen known as _Discord_ stepping up to the large rectangular pad to face off against a blonde boy.

Kaylee starts to repeatedly pump her fist up then down as she eagerly cheers, "Show 'em what you got Jaydy!"

"One or two things can happen: they can rally back to fight in the tie breaker _or_ fight for the Consolation prize." Ivy considers as she folds her arms once again.

 _ **POKH bench…**_

Buttercup roughly slams one of her fist against the soft pad when she angrily proclaims, "What good are you for as a Student Rep?"

Princess audibly " _scoffs_ " at the jab towards her, which earns a visible roll of her eyes along with a counter, "My duty isn't to spy _but_ to…"

The raven haired girl's face was visibly scrunching up in disdain while rudely interrupting her, "Don't feed me that BS!"

"We all know that position is made for spies to try and gain intel on the other teams." She reminded the curly red head of the real description for that particular job.

"Arguing now won't solve anything!" Midori's voice was cutting through their pointless argument before calmly claiming, "Boomer has to weather this storm."

' _I have to keep my guard up at all times.'_ The blonde teen continuously reminds himself after he senses a strong vibe from his opponent.

' _He didn't steal the Top position. He fought tooth and nail for it.'_ He concludes about the brunette right before the official signals for them to begin.

The Armada Reform Top simply strolls forward only to suddenly block a straight punch with the hind side of his forearm.

' _He's way too close!'_ Five of the six people instantly judges once the young easily enters within Boomer's proximity and watches his fingers.

One of the five members was abruptly shrieking in a piercingly loud tone, "Don't let him near you!"

By then, it was far too late to even think of defending what was about to happen to the blonde.

Jayden swiftly secures him by the wrist with his fingers, yanks backwards and flicks him in the middle of his forehead.

Boomer hastily leapt back before he suddenly felt completely weightless and directly landed on his back.

Butch was totally caught off-guard by the end results of a rather simple attack that he could only utter, "What the?"

"What just happened?!" Brick was anxiously needling as to why his brother's body was now laying motionless on top of the pad.

"Bloss explain. My head is about to burst." Buttercup demands while she rubs her fingers to ease the intense pressure between her temples.

Blossom slightly twisted her torso in order to enlighten the brother about what just happened to their brother. "Jayden earned the nickname _Discord_ because he can cause dissonance within the human body."

" _Dissonance_ ," The raven haired male confusingly mutters once he hears an unfamiliar word.

His brother's voice speaks up from behind him as he provides him a definition of the word, "The clashing of two sounds."

Confusion was visibly present on the teen's face before he puzzlingly asks, "But how does that work in the human body?"

"Easily…you can have your five senses work against you." The orange haired girl holds up five fingers before she points one of them at her head.

"It greatly affects the parietal lobe, which gives you a sense of self and tells what part of the body is and what part of the outside world is." She breaks down in to easier terms for Butch to comprehend.

The mediator speedily rushed over to check on Boomer, who was easily knocked unconscious by none other than his challenger.

"The fighter is rendered unconscious. The winner is Armada Reform." He officially announces the results of the match.

One of the Discipline Committee members was dutifully shouting out "Medic," in the hallway before holding the door open for them to enter inside the ballroom.

A group of volunteers eventually appears with a hand gurney, carefully slides him onto it and dutifully totes him off to the Infirmary.

' _That's going to hurt like hell when he wakes up.'_ Drake honestly regarded after he winced at the sound of Boomer's body connected with the floor.

After a brief pause for the Medical staff to complete their job, the referee obediently proceeds with the next matchup, "Pokey Oaks, fifth fighter,"

"Still no Buttercup?" Chase frustratingly groans at the sight of the red head girl that currently stands in the middle of the pad.

Vincent merely hones in on the familiar female's face until he finally speaks up, "That's her Second Lieutenant, right?"

"A hierarchy dominated by same sex siblings, interesting." Ivy was specifically regarding about Pokey Oaks High unique structure of power.

Edward slowly shuts his eyes and irritably opines, "I bet it's a rowdy household."

"Sounds like fun to me," Aubree was stirringly squealing at the idea of having only sisters for siblings.

The fight between the fifth fighters barely lasted fifteen minutes with Blossom ultimately being designated as the winner of the match.

A " _ding_ " was emitting from a gavel signaling to the participants and observers that the fighting portion was officially ending.

The two squads, except for Boomer, neatly stand in a straight line across from each other and bows after they formally announce Pokey Oaks High as the winner.

 **0000**

Alma sensibly places the large paper bag on her coffee table, entirely away from her paperwork, and removes the contents from within the sack.

"So whatcha working on?" He nosily wonders as he separates a pair of wooden chopsticks whild he watches her highlight some key phrases.

Her brown eyes break away from the parchment then lands on the male's face while she answers, "Top Secret Confidential, only certain personnel with high level clearance type stuff."

"You had me at secret so I'll treat it like a landmine." The purple haired male admits after he slurps up some Lo Mein noodles from between the chopsticks.

She then quirk an eyebrow at his admittance when she chuckles and amusingly remarks, "A bit _drastic_ , don't you think?"

The woman shuts the book close, adjusts her position to grab a white carton and a pair of chopsticks from the table.

"So is…the principal of Pokey Oaks High single?" Serena curiously enquires once she snaps the two sticks apart, slides the hook off and twirls some noodles onto her utensil.

He then peers up at her face only to notices her with an expression of seriousness and mischievousness at the same time.

"What? I'm asking for a close friend of mine." She explained the reason why she asked that particular question.

Alma visibly smirks once he senses where their conversations can potential head so he decides to play along, "Yes, he is _but_ there's a rumor going on."

"Oh do spill it." The orange haired woman was excitingly perking up at the idea of some hot gossip.

He removes his utensil from inside of his carton to point at her while he mentions, "It seems he's spending some precious QT with one of his parents."

"How scandalous! Do tell me more." The young woman enthusiastically encourages him to continue on with this so call rumor.

"Well she's ye tall, petite with curly auburn hair and these piercing brown eyes that can read a human's soul." The Pokey Oaks High principal physically gestures with the sticks in his hands during his depiction of this specific parent.

A thought passes through her mind until she voices her honest opinion, "She sounds _magical_."

"So much so that the principal's father was highly interested in this maiden," He includes after he slurps up some more noodles from his carton.

She lightly taps her lips with the chopsticks while she inquisitively pops the million dollar question, "Did the principal get the _magical_ girl?"

Alma did not immediately respond instead he gradually leans in closer toward her face until he deliberately draws back to remark, "He hope so."

Serena was surprisingly caught off-guard that her brain eventually rediscovered its ability to reason when she heard, "You don't mind the TV while you're working, do you?"

"It's fine. I like background noise anyway."

 **0000**

Lucas slyly peeped down at his cell phone after it brightly lit up and reads it with his eyes, _'So my contact will be at this location, huh?'_

He eventually reached the designated area when he was rudely bumped in to by one of the hotel's guest.

Before he could even react to the person that ran in to him, a feminine voice apologizes be she discernibly instructs him to follow her.

"So you're the mole," The girl speaks up as a means to spark up a conversation with the taller boy once they were out of the busy lobby.

He purposely chose not to speak since he did not want his voice to be easily recognized for any potential future jobs with her.

"Not much of a talker, hm?" The contact eventually presumes since the male barely utters a response to her question.

She then starts to meticulously study his face while she says, "You look awfully familiar to me…"

Once again the young man refuses to answer her question, so she asks, "Anyway, do you have the USB Bell gave you?"

His hand merely moves at the end of the inquiry in order to show her that the USB was currently in his possession.

The young woman nods her head and suggests, "Let's head on up then."

Lucas purposely lags behind until they were inside the tight confinements of the elevator, which soon fills the empty space with classical elevator music.

Once she exited from within the elevator, he had to trail closely behind her because they were on the level assigned to the female members for each team.

' _Let's just hope that POKH girls aren't here or this mission is a bust.'_ He personally dreaded the idea of being dragged in to the possession of Buttercup Utonium.

"Ivy…just the gal I was looking for!" The young woman cheerfully exclaims at the sight of another girl with short red hair and green eyes.

Lucas felt a pair of eyes glare at him, which was directly followed with a question, "Who's your friend?"

His contact peeks to her left then points her thumb over her shoulder while she reveals, "I requested for an escort."

The teen, name Ivy, inserts her hotel key inside of the slot when she puts forth, "I don't think I saw that in database."

"You know how slow the Discipline Committee works." The other girl easily brushes off with a motion of her hand away from her face.

The red head then holds the door open for the other two to enter inside since it was impolite to leave them in the hallway.

"I tried to send them a third party in order to help but they declined my generous offer." She was disclosing while walking toward her personal laptop and placing her key on the side of the television.

Lucas eyes naturally roam about the room when he notes that there was industrial size hard drives that completely covers one side of the wall.

A "Typical," emits from the taller of the two girls when she curiously wonders, "So what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to tell you Logan's been staring at you a lot lately." The young lady openly makes public about Logan's attention being on her friend recently.

Her arch eyebrow simply lifts at the revelation of being on someone's radar during the tournament from another person.

"You don't seem surprised." The girl eventually assumes since her face was able to remain absolutely impersonal to the news.

Ivy audibly sighs, physically tucks her arms under her chest and sincerely pronounces, "I may act like a robot at time but I'm still a human being at the end of the day."

She then lifts one of her hands so she could rest her cheek against her jaw when she abruptly realizes, "Oh shoot, I left my glasses in the bathroom. Give me a sec,"

The contact flashes him the signal to proceed with his portion of the plan while she keeps an eye on Ivy.

He speedily head over to the drives, which were luckily labeled with words like "Surveillance", "Communications", and "Statistical Data," just to name a few. Lucas then feels fo a port and plugs it in.

The red head finally exits from within the bathroom with a pair of circular glasses now over her eyes.

"Now I remember what I needed…I was going to ask for an Inquiry form but you seem pretty busy." The shorter of the two girls recollects from her memory along with a snap of her fingers.

Ivy was plopping down in her sleek modern leather rolling chair after checking the time and responding, "I can fit you in…thirty minutes from now."

"Deal," The petite girl agreed to the proposed time given to her.

"See you later, Ivy," His contact physically waves the red head goodbye as they exit from her hotel room.

The duo then head toward the elevator, where there was little to no traffic of other female fighters, and watch the metallic doors close in front of them.

"To keep the ruse of you being my escort, you'll have to stay for forty more minutes."

 **0000**

"He's still out?" Bubbles nervously questions about Boomer's current condition since family was only allow to see him in the Infirmary.

Brick spares a glance back at the white sheet that conceals his brother's from other visitor's eyes before he relays the news, "Yeah, they said he needs a day's rest in order to fully recover."

"I should've been the one to fight him!" Butch frankly rants about the outcome of the match between his brother and Jayden.

Buttercup sharply jabs his left temple with her index finger while she crossly retorts, "Have you burnt off the rest of your tiny brain cells? There's no way for you to counter that!"

"She's right. Either one of us would've ended up here, regardless of who fought against Jayden." Blossom frankly asserted about whoever would have faced off against the Top from the Armada Reform School.

The orange haired male casually approaches his girlfriend before he inquisitively questions, "Isn't that illegal?"

"It's well within the rules and bylaws of the tournament." Princess was informing him while filing down her nails with her diamond encrusted filer.

" _What_?!" Butch shockingly retorts as he faces his Student Rep., who blows the dust from on top of her nail bed.

Midori tucks her arms underneath her chest with her eyes close before she addresses the brothers, "That's why it was critical to match BC up with him. Her chance of beating his ability is at a steady 48%, which is second highest to Chase at 54%."

"So he's the strongest?" The raven haired male instantly equates the low odds to the simple fact that this Jayden character is the best out of the Tops.

Her eye lids lift to reveal Obsidian eyes that reflect disappointment when she adds, "Not really,"

"Each Top earned their nicknames for a special move that only they and they alone can pull off." Blossom declares with a small motion of her hand.

"Plus each Top has an opposite that can either nullify or completely cancel the other out." Princess enlightens the newcomers about the Tops' potential weakness as she slips her filer back inside of her clutch.

Dark green eyes land on the girl to his left when he enquiringly gives her the third degree, "So who's your opposite?"

"It's…" She was about to reveal who her opposite is only to have an unfamiliar voice politely interrupt their conversation.

A young man, more than likely from the Discipline Committee, now appears inside of the Infirmary and approaches the Pokey Oaks High team.

"Pardon the interruption, but is…Midori from Pokey Oaks here?" He temporarily pauses in the middle of the sentence to recall the specific name that was assign to the message.

"Why?" Buttercup instantaneously grills upon the sight of a rather handsome young man that now stands in their presence.

The messenger seemed unbothered at tone since he was forewarned about the raven haired Top of Pokey Oaks High's defensiveness when it came to her teammates.

"We just need her to complete some paperwork for POK." He explains the reason behind his request for their manager.

Midori was stepping forward, extending one of her arms in front of Buttercup and confidently regarding, "I got this. Make sure Boomer will be ready for tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am." The team, except for Princess, simultaneously replies in unison.

' _I could've sworn we completed all necessary forms before we even got here.'_ The Student Representative privately ruminates as she sticks a piece of chewing gum in her mouth.

' _Something's up.'_

 **0000**

"Yo, Prince," Argos breathlessly calls out to the purple haired teen once he speedily draws closer to him.

He then lifts a finger as a sign to give him a minute to catch his breath before he startlingly reveals, "That idiot came through!"

Prince was quickly following him back in the room fill with computers only to notice that the monitors screens now were visually airing the comings and goings of the hotel's guest.

"Why are some blank?" He wonders aloud since some of the most crucial spots have a completely black screen.

Argos tracks his friend's sight on to about five black screens before he eventually assumes, "They might be in the Discipline Committee block."

"Since when?" The now seating teen was asking the question of the hour since it was a rather unusual practice for the committee to have control of the cameras.

He audibly sighs as he acknowledges the unforeseen snag in their plan to acquire all of the DFMT surveillance.

"A lot has changed since our time in." The frail teen conceded about the new implementations for this year's tournament compared to the ones' in the past.

A raven haired girl emerges from the Infirmary, which catches Argos sight so he deliberately alleges, "Oh look…there's your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." Prince instantly countered the false allegation that was just made against him.

A raven haired male soon joins her out in the hallway right before they start to argue with one another.

"Sheesh, Buttercup has found someone new already." Argos states once realization hits him as he watches the couple argue like how her and Prince did in the past.

He visibly rolls his eyes as he accesses the computer, types and reminds him, "So did Bubbles,"

"We were platonic, dummy." The young man in front of the monitor clarifies about his previous relationship with the blonde girl.

A click of the tongue shows his disbelief in his friend's statement so he sarcastically jaws, "And my uncle is a monkey."

An expression of belief noticeably surfaces onto his face, which earns an audibly "har, har, har," from the purple haired teen.

"Shall we find our first victim?"

 **0000**

"Licking your wounds?" Kaylee was playfully presuming at the sight of Jayden presently sulking underneath the wooden gazebo by the pool.

He merely stares down at his hands before he breaks his silence, "I didn't mean to use my ability on the guy."

"Unless you have a point to prove," The orange haired frankly commented about the specific time that he would always use his ability.

The brunette occasionally flexes his open hands to fists while he honestly confesses, "I didn't think my Spartans would fall so easily like they did."

"Realistically speaking, they had the advantage." The young woman was sincerely chiming in while looking around at the pool goers before adding, "A brand new roster that no one has ever seen in an actual fight before."

A smile stretches across her face when she roughly pats his back and advises, "So take it with a grain of salt and pray you land in the Consolation match."

"Thanks, Kay," Jayden was cordially showing his appreciation for his girlfriend taking the time out to cheer him up about his lost today.

She then stood to her feet right before she recalled exactly what else she meant to say to him, "Oh and make sure you apologize to Buttercup too."

"I would hate for you to invoke her eternal wraith." The orange haired beauty highly recommends with a wag of her index finger in a serious tone.

"I will."

 **0000**

The handsome young man dutifully guides her to the second floor, where the conference rooms were until he stops specifically in front of one.

"Right this way, Miss Midori," He politely orders after he opens the door wide enough for her to walk in first then him last.

It was a surprisingly spacious room filled with crates of what she guessed was each of the school's specific paperwork for the tournament.

"Excellent job, Tony," A familiar voice promptly praises with their back toward the door along with a command of, "You may leave."

The male then drops the Manila folder on the desk, about faces toward his guest and was about to personally greet the teen girl.

"Mid-," He barely uttered her first name since she sprung forward, tightly enclosed him in a hug and cried against his chest.

Drake repeatedly yet gently rubs one of his hands from the crown of her head to the ends of her red tresses as he whispers, "You're such a crybaby."

"We'll talk when you're finished." The Head of the Discipline Committee positively assures her.

 _ **10 minutes later…**_

"Better?" The brunette inquires while he reaches over his desk for some Kleenex and hands her the colorful box.

She then gently blows her nose on the tissue and dries her tears with her shirt sleeve before she curiously poses, "What's this place?"

"My office while the DFMT goes on." He was answering while slightly tilting his head to the left with a smile present on his face.

Obsidian eyes casually roam over the entire area until something important stands out to her, "No cameras?"

The Discipline Committee Head amusingly chuckles at her statement when he lifts his hand over his mouth to slyly comment, "If I didn't know any better, you sounded a bit… _disappointed_."

"Perv," Midori automatically chalks up about his personality as he dramatically clutches his heart and yelps, "Ouch!"

"I just wanted to see you since I have some free time." He reveals the reason as to why she was currently in his office, which prompts her to blush from his honesty.

"And...I knew you be probably beating yourself up because of your teammate." The young man adds in as his concentration turn towards the red head.

She gently rubs the nape of her neck with one of her hands while she comes clean, "I should've forseen that they would give us a comfortable lead before their Ace steps in."

"It's your first time as a manager, right?" He asks her once he starts to draw closer to the teen girl, who nods her head yes.

His green eyes lock with her obsidian ones when he openheartedly proclaims, "The DFMT is relentless and unforgiving that I have seen plefty of teams crash and burn but…for your debut, you did a beautifully job well done."

"I guess." The Pokey Oaks manager hesitantly agreed as her eyes were now downcast toward the floor.

Drake gently places his index finger under her chin and turns it back toward him in order to meet her gaze. "You really should give yourself more credit, Midori."

"After all, you snagged the heart of El Diablo de Tridente ferocious _Berserker_." He boldly broadcasts along with a light nudge of his finger against her cheek.

His actions earned a smirk from the beautiful girl that presently stood in front of him.

An audible sigh escapes from his mouth as he tucks a red strand back in place and claims, "Well I won't hold you any longer than I should or Buttercup will have my head."

"Right," Midori was agreeing and giggling at the image of Buttercup giving Drake a cross examination about what he was doing alone with her.

"Thanks for the pep talk lad." She showed her gratitude for being able to openly cry then turn around to be cheered up by the young man.

The red head then turns away from him and approaches the door until she unexpectedly feels a weight around her neck.

"Just a few more seconds… _please_?" The brunette distinctly pleads delicately in her ear as he silently relishes in the simple skin-to-skin contact.

Drake eventually released her from his hold so she could return to her squad, "See you,"

He waves her off before he slaps both of his cheeks with his hands and pumps himself up for work, "Alright Drake, back to work."


	15. Chapter 15

[ **Bell** ]

White eyes naturally caught the motion of a teen aged girl with orange hair that entered her line of vision. She was checking her nails before inwardly thinking, _'I need a touch up'_ while the girl was casually occupying a lounge chair next to her.

"You handled that assignment pretty quickly." Bell genuinely compliments the teen before she sips from a tall glass of Lemonade.

Kaylee simply leaned against the rectangular back of the chair and simply said, "You have to have perfect timing."

Her eyes were cutting towards a familiar face before including, "Your help was a bit… _eccentric_ for my taste."

The platinum blonde teen quirks an eyebrow at her previous statement while she privately contemplates, _'She barely spoke to him and automatically sensed that about him?'_

A buzz momentarily captured her attention right when a waiter cordially posed, "Miss would you like something to drink?"

As Kaylee was placing her order, a small smirk was stretching across her companion's face from the content of the broadcast.

"I have another mission…that is...if you're still interested in my plan." Bell deliberately breaks her silence once the waiter eventually departs from in front of them.

The orange haired teen leisurely faced the other teen in order to decree, "Last I checked...a revolution doesn't happen overnight."

Bell was physically nodding her head in agreement before finally revealing the next part of her impending mission.

' _This is going to be fun.'_

[ **Midori** ]

Midori was leisurely strolling through the hotel's lobby when suddenly someone was repeatedly waving her down to a stop.

She eventually came to a halt once she recognized the person as none other than the Armada Reform's Top, Jayden " _Discord_ " Miller.

"Are you heading to the Infirmary?" He was breathlessly asking all while steadily evening out his breathing.

The red head did not immediately respond since he was directly responsible for Boomer's recent entry in the Infirmary.

He must have read her facial expression and body language because he promptly explains, "I wanted to apologize to your team about my childish behavior from earlier."

The brunette unintentionally struck a nerve within the young teen.

" _Childish behavior_?! For crying out loud dude, pull yourself together! With your position, you're a representative for an entire school. I thought Tops was supposed to be mature enough to handle their emotions in combat _but_ I guess that's putting you on a pedestal far above your real character." Midori vehemently chewed him out about his poor excuse he attempted to pass for his action.

An expression of shock was visibly materializing on his face after listening to Pokey Oaks' manager harshly digging him a new one.

A "you're right" finally voiced from his mouth as he slowly rotated away from her and took a few steps forward.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Midori was swiftly speaking up after observing the brunette walking away before making known, "You still owe my team an apology."

Jayden momentarily paused to glance over his shoulder at the expression of determination on the teen's girl face.

The Armada Reform Top simply shakes his head and proceeds to follow behind the red head.

[ **Serena** ]

Brown eyes was repeatedly glancing from the book of pages in her grasp to the young man that was currently occupying the opposite end of her sofa.

He would often smile or laugh at whatever was shown on the television screen. A small blush dusted her cheeks once she recalled the recent incident between the two.

' _He probably told all the female parents' that.'_ The orange haired woman initially presumed about him until she recalled that he often went out of his way to make sure she was okay.

' _Even keeping you company while the boys are away.'_ At the mere mentioning of boys was her face brightly glowing since she has to break the news that she was thinking about dating their school principal.

A " _pop_ " noise speedily breaks Alma's attention from the colorful television screen and toward Serena's face that now has a book directly across the front of her face.

"I guess that's a new way of reading the army teaches you." The purple haired male teasingly quipped at the sight to his left.

His ears were barely picking up on what the woman was saying so he was scooting closer and reaching over to pluck the book from her.

Surprisingly her grip tighten at the edges, which slightly catches him off-guard.

Not to mention every time he tried to peak around the object, she would speedily move the book to cover up her face.

"What's wrong?" Alma eventually pops the million dollar question with an expression of confusion on his face.

"I…"

[ **Animal Sanctuary** ]

Prince lazily relaxes in a chair while he curiously observes the action of the participants in the tournament.

' _There's barely any cameras on the floors with the players that are accessible.'_ He was mentally noting since there were a few cameras in their possession for necessary placing to watch from every corner.

His obsidian eyes tediously scan the bright screens from left to right.

Most of the Tops were actively indulging in their hobbies, except for one member was not presently accounting for. _'Where's the WRI Top?'_

"We got movement at the Infirmary too." Argos said once he noticed that Pokey Oaks speedily stood to their feet right after a girl brought the Armada Top toward them.

' _Looks like a fight's about to start.'_ The frail teen privately predicts based on their body action from two of the eight man team.

 _ **At the same time,**_

Ivy was running a diagnostic check-up on her systems as well as observing the DFMT participants interacting on dozens of screens.

' _Everyone has settled in to a routine.'_ She teasingly considered since the Tops were still regular people at the end of the day.

Athena was reading books about Military History. Kaylee was snapping random picture of objects. Vincent was swimming in the pool… _again_. Chase was running on a tread mill... _again_. Aubree was practicing her swings, Edward was scribbling like a madman, Jayden was with Buttercup and her team _'Probably apologizing for using his powers'_ and then there was Logan strumming away on his guitar unintentionally drawing a crowd of women.

His Ruby red eyes unexpectedly peek upward, wink and play a few songs for the crowd.

' _Did he just…'_ The red head speedily shoved the thought to the back of her mind before she privately deemed, _'Not today Apollo. Not today.'_

[ **POKH** ]

Blossom and Buttercup were presently blocking Brick and Butch from physically harming the brunette presently standing right next to Midori.

A "you bastard" followed by extremely colorful language verbalized from the two brother at the mere sight of the young man.

Buttercup was purposely elbowing Butch against his gut while Blossom was vice gripping Brick's ear in order to create some semblance.

"Now that the boys' panties have been unbunched, what can we do for you Jay?" The raven haired female politely posed all while the brothers vocally muttered from intense pain.

"I came to apologize about my selfish actions for trying to harm someone because I wanted to win." Jayden sincerely apologizes to the Pokey Oaks team with a grave expression on his face.

This prompted all movement to cease on the Pokey Oaks' end, except for sights toward Boomer's brothers.

"You can let go, Bloss." Brick was suddenly speaking as she was hesitantly releasing his ear but keeping a close eye on his future actions around Armada Reform's Top.

Butch eventually sat his upper body up until one of his arms rested on his propped leg. Midori instinctively stepped away from the two right before he immediately punched the brunette in the jaw.

Blossom was about to approach her counterpart to scold him only to have an arm that belonged to Bubbles physically stop her in her tracks.

"Apology accepted." The orange haired male finally accepted while he held his closed fist in front of his chest.

Light green eyes were roaming over to the sitting brother, who was merely nodding his head at the action before piercingly shouting, "You still owe Boomie an apology!"

Brick audibly cracks his fist and adds, "Other than Bubbles, you should be the very _first_ male's face he sees once he wakes up."

The blonde female face brightly lit up at the male's demand for the Top of Armada Reform to fulfill.

"I'll give the clearance for the medical staff to inform you of when Boomer is up." Buttercup was eventually breaking her silence once the brother was issuing his demand for Jayden to complete.

The brunette slowly stands to his feet, nods his head and promptly dismisses himself from within the group's presence.

"I think this is the perfect opportunity to break. No team meeting this evening." Midori was abruptly asserting while watching the young man heading down the hallway.

"Let's get some fresh air." Buttercup suggests to the group while she physically helps Butch up off the floor.

An agreed "Yeah" left from the fighters' lips.

"I'll stay here for a little while." Bubbles quickly disclosed to them right before she reentered the Infirmary.

Midori was about to follow behind the fighters until Princess stopped her in her tracks with a question, "Why did the Discipline Committee summon you about paperwork?"

A light blush then spreads across her cheeks so she drops her head with one of her hands at the nape of her neck.

"Apparently they needed me to sign a paper that acknowledged one of my fighters were hurt during the tournament" She was deliberately fibbing while now directly staring the curly orange haired teen in the face.

An eyebrow lifts at the manager's response to her inquiry until she shakes her head and exasperates, "This sure has been one exciting tournament."

"Well I'm off to the spa. I need to be pampered after this fiasco." Princess dramatically exclaimed while Midori inwardly considered, ' _That was way to close for comfort.'_

 **Meanwhile,**

' _3…2…1…'_ Aubree mentally countdowns as she finally reaches her last rep with a downward swing of her arms.

She was using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away the sweat perspiring across her now shiny forehead. Her violet eyes were then watching the sun slowly setting on the horizon after dropping in to a butterfly sitting position.

A heavy yet weary sigh escaped her mouth due to the intense workout when she overheard some music from the gazebo. A small visibly smile surfaces to her face at the gentle melody since it helps for her to calm her nerves.

' _Logan always knows exactly what his fans want to hear.'_ The auburn haired teen privately asserted right before movement by the pier suddenly captured her attention.

' _Vincent is in the pool so who is he?'_ The Woodland Prep's Top was mentally recollecting while narrowing her sights on a male with orange hair shuffling about the area.

A "Yo" emits from behind her as her instincts were in overdrive and speedily withdraws her wooden sword at the stranger.

"It's just me… _Vincent_." The familiar voice instantly registered as friendly so she slowly sheathed her weapon back in to the white cloth holder.

"Are you alright?" The ultramarine haired male nervously questioned her once she removed the object from against his neck.

Violet eyes were peeking through her shaggy bangs and speedily offering an apology, "Sorry".

"I should've known not to sneak up on someone nickname the _Huntress_. That's a death wish I'll never want fulfilled." The teen jokingly opines, which earns a chortle from the girl.

"It's just I thought…" Aubree was briefly pausing, rotating around and searching for the orange haired male once again.

"Aub…are you alright?" The Oceania Academy's Top repeatedly enquirers since he observes a slight distress in her facial expression.

"I thought I saw someone on the pier." The teen finally concluded her sentence, which caused him to suggest. "It's more than likely a Discipline Committee member. They've probably just added the beach as another surveillance spot."

Sensing that she was not letting go of her apprehension, the male was suggesting, "Let's go listen to Logan before he starts charging a performance fee."

His statement earns another round of laughter once she stands to her feet and follow him.

[ **Serena** ]

"I…" slipped from her lips before she eventually gained the courage to finally confess "I…like you."

Alma unintentionally freezes at her sudden admission that she actually likes him.

Serena was gradually dropping the book down until being able to easily peer over the edge of the book to check for his reaction.

Silence briefly ensues until she hears "finally" discernibly verbalizes from the Pokey Oaks High principal.

The purple haired male purposely waited until her grip on the book slacken to swiftly snatch it from her possession and placed it on the table. His eyes was studying how red the tip of her ears were while one of her hands were reaching out for something to grab.

However, Alma was quicker and tossea the pillows nearest her from off the sofa.

He then observed her leg physically shifted closer to the edge of the furniture, which meant she already an escape route and was about to bolt for the hills.

The young male was feigning ignorance to the movement before he was securing her by the waist and using the momentum to place her in between his legs.

' _His grip is strong.'_ The woman shockingly considers until she feels her head tuck underneath his chin.

An "I like you too" was voiced from Alma while he brought her closer to his body.

[ **Animal Sanctuary** ]

Prince was checking the time stamp every hour since curfew was closely approaching for the teams. His sights randomly skipped from one screen to the other.

"This is getting old." Argos unenthusiastically comments with his chin against his hand.

Obsidian eyes were roaming over to his friend before offering him a break. "Take ten and bring back snacks."

The purple haired teen interestedly needled, "Hey...do you know who the Head of the Discipline Committee is yet?"

"I don't remember his name but they have a site that streams the fight with everyone's profile." The frail teen was divulging about a potential website for this information.

Prince was clicking the Internet icon right before typing " _DFMT streaming videos"_ in the search box and pressing enter.

There were at least a dozen hyperlinks that offered some form of media that consisted of the keywords he typed in.

He selects the link, a few clicks down, that reads _OFFICAL DFMT_ and waits until it loads. Sure enough there were two side to side videos under the title "QUARTERFINALS: Olympus Prep vs. Lyre SoA and Pokey Oaks vs. Armada Reform."

There was also a link to complete a virtual bracket to see who could accurately predict a 'perfect' bracket. There were tabs that read " _Home Page_ ", " _History_ ", " _Team_ _Profiles_ ", " _Uploads_ " and " _Archives_ ".

' _Whoever built this page has way too much time on their hands.'_ Prince scrupulously believed based on how organized and presentable the website was, which prompted Ivy to sneeze.

The teen clicked " _Team Profile_ " and sure enough each school was listed alphabetically wise along with a picture of their respective Tops next to the name. The rest of the team was pictured below and listed alphabetically by last name.

As he was searching through the roster of each team, there was no apparent listing of the Discipline Committee anywhere.

' _Why would they? They work in secrecy.'_ A sigh escaped his lips as he ran his fingers through his now messy hair.

[ **Hotel Lobby** ]

"How's the assignment going?" A familiar feminine voice was interestingly probing the young man about the progression of completion for his project.

"Your scientific mind can only process data so asking an artist about time is _irrelevant_." Edward simply retorts while he neatly scribbles away on his pad.

"Welp, I hate to burst your shadowy dark bubble _but_ science and art goes hand in hand." The young teen was knowledgeably proclaiming while occupying a seat on the couch.

The Shakespeare SoA's Top merely released a sigh as he unwillingly took a break from his paper. "Instead of weighing me down with your _trivialities_ , try composing an original piece of art hm."

"Is that anyway to talk to a beautiful lady, Ed?" Logan was sternly admonishing him completely unaware that Edward was currently conversing with Ivy.

"Well...when you have a specific botanical name such as hers, one must tread carefully or suffer from its hidden agenda." The purple haired teen eloquently described his opinion of the girl on the couch.

After being handed a drink, Logan sipped then turned and almost spit his drink out once he registered the woman as none other than, Ivy Garcia.

His face visibly shaded to a similar color as her hair after he realized he openly called her beautiful.

Gray eyes were rolling at the blonde's overt reaction and sarcastically opining, "The king has now become the fool."

Ivy merely sips on the caffeine and sincerely remarks, "You should really work on your conversational skills with the opposite sex. Why don't you take some pointers from _Apollo_ over here? After all, he's known as the ladies' whisperer."

Edward could only stare at the now deflated Logan Rhodes that earned the nickname _Apollo_. He then reaches in his pocket, removes a tube and tosses it toward the male.

"You'll need that more than me." He sincerely suggested before Logan audibly read "Aloe Vera cream", which earned the retort, "It's really good for intense burns."

Their exchange was earning laughter from the red head at how smooth the _Grim Reaper_ was with words and physical comedy.

Logan was merely lobbing it back over and cheekily countering, "You'll need it more than me."

"As much as I would vehemently say this has been fun, which I won't by the way. I'll bid the nauseously future lovebirds a good night." The Shakespeare SoA's Top eventually excused himself after he gathered his writing materials.

An awkward yet tense silence follows between the two until one speaks, "Sorry about earlier with Edward."

"I can take a joke, Ivy. The music biz gives you some really tough skin." The blonde nonchalantly downplayed with a wave of his hand.

Green eyes were staring directly at the light brown liquid in the cup until watching a hand now touching hers.

"I'm quite serious about you so let me prove it." Logan expressed in a tone that slightly scared her yet placed a guard up around her heart.

She was politely removing her hand from his while standing to her feet before sincerely expressing, "I'll think about it Logan. Good night."

A "yes" cheerfully escaped his mouth at the sudden turn in his luck.

 _ **A few hours later…**_

Curfew finally arrived as the DFMT participants unwillingly/willingly entered their respective hotel rooms.

The POKH manager unexpectedly felt something in her pocket once she removed her key card from that very same pocket.

There was a neatly folded note with something written on it after she closed the door right behind her. Her face then deeply flushed at the inscribed request, glanced around and prepared herself for what was to come.

It did not take Princess long to fall off to sleep since she was well relaxed from her much needed trip to the Spa.

A gentle " _knock_ " was then heard at the door, which caused her to tense up at the sound.

Her obsidian eyes peek through the peephole only to notice the same male from earlier, who Drake calls by the name Tony.

The young teen was reaching for her bag and securing her hotel key upon her departure.

Hardly no words were exchanged between the two other than "Good evening" then "Stay close behind me". Midori physically nodded her head as she closely trailed behind Tony as instructed.

Elevator music was heard until a " _ding_ " loudly echoed as the doors opened to the third floor. There were a few members of _El Diablo de Tridente_ presently in the middle of the hall but on the farther end.

"Yo Tony, come drink with us!" One of them piercingly yells at the sight of a familiar face enter on their hallway.

"You know the boss will be mad…you didn't share." Hearty laughter was escaping their mouths at the positive response from a high ranking officer.

Tony slipped the key inside of the slot, opened the door wide and permitted Midori to enter first before he loudly shouted "Your guest is here!"

The red head then heard the door closed behind her right when a bathroom door opened to reveal a shirtless Drake.

The teen girl rapidly covers her face with her hands while she secretly peeps through the gaps of her fingers. Her immediate and honest reaction was prompting him to glance down, chuckling to himself before searching for a shirt.

Midori took that time to check out his room, which was far bigger than the other fighters and members' rooms.

Yet all of the basic amenities were still the exact same, except for the bed. This thought caused her face to light up brightly once again.

"Sorry about that…I was…" Drake momentarily stops once he realizes that the girl's face was still apparently red.

An " _hm_ " along with "And you call me the perv" was jawing before being on the receiving end of a pillow to the face knocking him to the floor.

"Alright, let me explain…" The brunette promptly speaks up after he clears his throat and stands back to his feet. "I want you to sleep with me."

An audible " _thud_ " was heard when he noticed that she suddenly collapsed on her butt from embarrassment.

"Okay, Okay, Okay, let me rephrase it," The Head of the Discipline Committee speedily recommends to her when he clears up, "I want to sleep with you in a non-sexual way. I've been sleep deprived for roughly 72 hours so…I was hoping you would help because I don't want to use sleeping pills _again_."

The dry lump that formed in her throat eventually cleared up just enough for her to consent, "Fine".

An expression of joy visibly surfaces this face once she agrees to his proposal and helps her up to her feet. He then speedily bounds over to a wooden desk, grabs a laptop and sets up a movie for them to watch.

Midori was placing her bag on the pullout sofa, removing her hat, sweatpants and hoodie to reveal a t-shirt with " _I eat Zombies' brains for breakfast_ " in green slime print, grey volleyball short and black calf length crossbones and skulls socks on her feet.

"I so feel like the walking dead right now." Drake jokingly punned after he read the sentence on her shirt, which earned an eye roll from his guest.

"Alright then, come on in in," The brunette was offering while lifting the comforter up until she was making herself comfortable.

"What are we watching?" The young teen curiously poses once he presses the white arrow to play the film.

He simply replies with "A classic."

The title of the movie finally appeared across the screen, which earned a retort of " _Really_?! We're watching Sleeping Beauty?"

"Man, Aurora is like goals right now! All she has to do is sleep through most of her movie." Drake sincerely opines about the movie along with a few gesture to prove his point.

"You are such a loser!" Midori was judging him solely off him picking a movie and provide a reasoning behind it.

The brunette was mockingly laughing with "har har, har," before firmly stating "but we're still watching it."

"Alright, pipe down Aurora," The POKH manager teasingly admonishes him as Maleficent shows up to the castle to give her gift to the princess.

Green eyes rolled at the moniker she just called him so he playfully refuted with, "Hey at least a handsome Prince Philip will come to rescue me."

Midori amusingly laughs at their exchange before they proceed to watch the movie in a comfortable silence. Barely thirty minutes in did she hear soft snoozing noise from her left and just like Aurora he was fast asleep.

"Good night Sleeping Beauty" as she finished up the movie, closed the laptop and lolled off to sleep herself.


	16. Chapter 16

The sound of the infirmary doors slightly _squeak_ opens as a blonde teen girl enters in and politely greets the doctor at the desk.

"What can I help you with, miss?" He inquisitively inquires once he leans away from a small wooden desk.

Light blue eyes was searching for the number hanging from the side of the curtain before answering, "Boomer Shaw,"

Bubbles patiently waits until the doctor flips open a thin journal, skims the names with an index finger, locates the name and reveals, "Last one on the left,"

"He's lucky to have such a caring girlfriend." The older man genuinely complimented her before she stepped past him and headed toward the back.

The young lady was quietly strolling through the infirmary noticing that there were white curtains separating potential patients from each other.

She eventually arrives at her destination, slowly draws back the curtain and steps in to the confined space.

A small frown briefly ghosted across her face as she trudged toward the lone stool conveniently positioned at the head of the bed.

Her light blue eyes were staring at her counterpart sleeping peacefully on the cot and murmuring a silent pray for a speedy recovery.

[ **Midori** ]

Midori was waking to the sound of a running shower as she was sleepily taking in her surroundings when a light blush was surfacing to her face.

Her head slowly turned at the _click_ from the door only to see Drake with a toothbrush in his mouth and a fluffy towel wrapped around his waist and shoulders.

The brunette was drying his wet hair before looking upward until noticing that his guest was wide awake. "Good -,"

A pillow unexpectedly hit him square in the face when an embarrassed Midori, who speedily faced away from him, declared, "Put some clothes on, you perv!"

Obsidian eyes then curiously peeks to her left only to notice the brunette was now in a shirt, which caused her to audibly scoff at his blatant disregard of boundaries.

A gentle knock was emitting from the door as Drake was casually bounding over, opening it and annoyingly greeting the visitor with an "Aw man,"

The young girl eventually registered the visitor as none other than Tony, the boy that escorted her to the room last night.

The red head privately presumed that it was time for her to head back to her room in order to prevent a potential controversy or a conflict of interest on Drake's behalf.

She silently inched out of the comfy king size bed, located her belongings on the sofa then placed on her sweatpants and over sized hoodie in order to conceal her identity.

Midori soon felt a pair of strong arms around her waist and a solid figure pressed against her back, who softly whispered, "Thanks for the rescue, my beautiful Prince,"

The girl, within his arms, brightly blushed a scarlet red color when a voice from behind interrupted them, "Alright, you two."

Drake unwillingly releases his hold on Midori, gently pulls the hood over her head and boldly asserts, "Make sure no big bad wolves steal _my_ red riding hood, Tony."

The lone female was feeling her heartbeat skipping a beat as Tony was dutifully guiding her out of the room but not before confirming, "Gotcha boss,"

[ **Utonium's Room** ]

The hotel room phone loudly rung twice before a hand picked up the phone and a feminine voice politely answered with "Hello,"

Pink eyes briefly peeked up at the sight of her raven haired sister, who was completely dressed for today's activities.

She removes the phone from against her cheek and passes it over to her sister, who begrudgingly accepts it and utters, " _What_?!"

Blossom then stood from the bedside and headed inside of their bathroom in order to start her morning routine for the day.

A white sticky note was hanging from the mirror with the following message, "Went to check on Boomie" in Bubbles' handwriting. It brought a somber smile to her face once she recalled the reason behind her sister's boyfriend being in the infirmary.

A "gah" instantly snaps out of her reverie only to hear her other sister exasperatingly grumbles, "Just great," which earns a "What is it?"

"Athena wants us to meet this morning." Buttercup was revealing after roughly slamming the phone down on the receiver.

Blossom grabs a flat head brush and gently brushes her hair while she mentions, "We'll have to pick up Bubbles. She's with Boomer."

Irritation was materializing on her face as she was shaking her head no before clarifying, "It's a _Tops_ only meeting."

"That's strange for her to do." The teen confusingly quipped once she briefly stopped midway on a thick orange tress at the fact that it was only the Tops that were required to meet.

Her sister loudly huffs out "What a pain the ass," as she folds her arms across her chest and closes her eyes.

' _Still…this is something strange to do,'_ The raven haired girl inwardly considered as she opened then cut her eyes toward the door and tapped her foot against the carpet.

[ **Brick & Butch**]

Butch was repeatedly rocking back and forth on his heels while Brick was pressing the "L" button after entering inside of the elevator.

"You think…" The raven haired teen quickly caught himself before he sadly voiced, "Never mind,"

The orange haired teen innately knew his brother had a hard time expressing his feelings whenever a loved one was involved.

It instantly reminded him of the time when they beat up some punks from middle school because they attempted to bully Boomer. He beat them pretty mildly but Butch…he did not stop until they were visibly bloodied and bruised.

"Boomer's tough and will pull through." Brick confidently spoke up before he proudly added, "He's our bro after all."

His comment brings a smirk to Butch's face when he agrees, "Right,"

The elevator doors were now sliding open after hearing the bell ringing signaling to the passengers that they were arriving at their stop.

[ **Serena** ]

Serena was finally waking to the sound of her alarm loudly blaring in her ear as she was reaching her hand outward until shutting it off.

She drowsily rubbed her eyes with the back of her other hand when her nose caught a waft of food that came from her kitchen.

The auburn haired woman was tiredly shuffling her feet until noticing a male figure hovering over her stove whistling a happy tune.

The figure eventually turned around, spotted the woman, smiled and cordially greeted her, "Morning Serena,"

Confusion visibly flashes across her face as she surprisingly articulates, "Good morning, Alma,"

His smile never fades as he returns his focus back on the task at hand while she shuffles over to the kitchen's island.

A few minutes passed when a plate filled with two pieces of toasts, scrambled eggs and turkey sausages suddenly entered her line of vision.

Curious brown eyes met with mysterious charcoal grey when she hears, "Bon appetit,"

Her stomach was growling at the wondrous sight before her as she was reaching for her silverware, scooping and consuming a piece of egg.

' _It's good!'_ The auburn haired woman privately thinks while she excitedly savors the first bite.

Alma merely smiled at the woman to her left as they quietly delighted in their delicious morning meal.

"Did you have fun last night?" He was suddenly asking causing her to spurt out some coffee after hearing his question.

Her face was bright red while she nervously stammered, "What kind of fun?"

A coy expression appeared on his face as he placed his hands over his lips and teased, " _Oh_ …you don't remember when you had your way with me? You were very… _explicit_."

This time her face was beat red as he silently relished in her honest expression to his comment, _'So she can be flustered...interesting,'_

"I didn't know you had such a _wild_ side." The purple haired male jokingly adds, which almost did the woman in emotionally.

A "just kidding" was finally emitting from his mouth after catching his breath from his random bursts of laughter.

Her expression shifted from embarrassed to neutral once realization dawned upon her as she retorted with a pout, "Not funny,"

"We only watched TV before you fell off to sleep. I took you to your room and slept on the couch. _Although_ …"

Her body was instantly perking up at the sudden pause in his statement while he was slyly opining, "I rather not embarrass you any further."

That was all it took to have the auburn haired woman check out emotionally as she collapsed against the island.

Alma could only chuckle at her reaction as he proceeded to gather the dishes and cleaned up the entire kitchen.

[ **CONFERENCE ROOM** ]

"What's the big idea calling a Tops only meeting this early in the morning?" Jayden irritably questions since he was in the middle of a mandatory morning group exercise.

Jade green eyes merely narrowed in on the other teens that made up the prestigious group but more specifically the head of said group, Athena.

Drake eventually joined, a bit late due to this unscheduled meeting, when he vocally gripped, "Now, now Athena why did you call us in?"

All eyes were now on the raven haired beauty, who currently sat in silence at the head of the table..

"I have information on El Diablo de Tridente." She merely announced as the room grew terribly still that someone accidentally knocked over a complementary pen and the sound discernibly reverberated throughout the room.

A _'What the hell?'_ passed through only two members' minds since they had firsthand knowledge about the gang's currently whereabouts as none other than their Discipline Committee for this year's tournament.

Before anyone could rebuttal, the head speaks up again, "Due to concern of a potential mole, I'll individually tell you all."

' _If she tells them individually then she can alter the message to figure out who's the spy.'_ Drake was instantly deducing the reason behind her tactic of individually revealing information.

"There are eight fighters here that can bring down any formidable high school so why are we worried about them?" Chase curiously poses as he leans further against the leather seat.

"If we ignore a threat and they grow in numbers then what?" Ivy strategically countered before she included, "Surely you forgot that all of us are not fighters Chase."

"Calm down, everyone," Logan's voice was calm as all eyes were now on him. "Where's your proof? Surely if someone's trying to plan a coup then we'd noticed the smallest changes if it's any one of us."

Buttercup audibly released a sigh and broke her silence, "This is stupid."

"I could've slept in if this is what we're going to be wasting our breaths about." She honestly reckons as she closes her eyes and folds her arms in front of her chest.

"If we become too consume with the what ifs then we will never live up to the true purpose of being a Top." Edward stoically chimed in agreement, which earned a jab, "So the zombie actually knows how to use his brains."

"Only when the brute actually uses their brains for once." He counterclaims, which earns laughter from Buttercup.

"So...what's the next order of business?" The Jade Warrior was purposely redirecting their meeting topic from _El Diablo de Tridente_ to another item on the agenda.

"We have one more off day before the final round of the tourney, we need to have an activity for everyone to participate in." Athena unwillingly ceded to the majority's call to discuss something new.

"A beach party or a luau," Aubree tossed out when the word _luau_ unexpectedly sent an ominous chill throughout Buttercup's body.

"I don't see why not. It'll be a good send off for the seniors too." Vincent eagerly agreed to the idea of a beach party.

Kaylee was absentmindedly fiddling with her plait while chiming in, "We can use this day to prep and use the last off day to do final checks."

"All in agreement," Athena dutifully brought the motion to the vote after three members agreed to the idea.

Seven members were raising their hands and positively declaring, "Aye,"

"The ayes have it. We will convene at four to discuss duties and responsibilities." Athena concluded the meeting then dismissed the other Tops.

"Drake…" Drake briefly pauses at the sound of his name when he hears, "I want you to keep an eye out for Buttercup Utonuim."

The brunette male neither verbally confirmed nor denied the request instead he pretended he did not hear it.

' _She's awfully paranoid.'_ Yet those thoughts went down the drain as a familiar red head popped in his mind. ' _I wonder what she's doing?'_

0000

Lucas was lazily patrolling the outskirts of the beach by the pier when Bell was leisurely approaching him from the pool area.

"Were you able to find out who the Head of the Discipline Committee is?" She inquisitively poses as sand naturally seeps between the cracks of her toes.

"I'm working on it." He was simply commenting, which was earning the retort, "You really are an idiot."

"Watch your mouth…" The teen coarsely gritted through his teeth until a voice in his ear spoke, "Discipline Committee members assemble at the conference room in five minutes."

"You better not mess this up." The platinum blonde was sternly advising before departing from his side and heading back to the pool.

" _Bitch_ …"

0000

Midori was finally emerging from the elevator and purposely heading in the direction of where they were serving continental breakfast for the tournament participants.

"Midori, over here," A familiar feminine voice abruptly calls out and waves her down with one of her hands once they spot the red head enter in the room.

Her obsidian eyes beheld Blossom, along with Brick and Butch, at a medium circular table but there was no Bubbles or Buttercup present.

"Did something happen?" The red head was immediately questioning her friends, which was earning looks of confusion. "No, why?"

"I figured that Bubbles with Boomer but where's Butter…" "Make room, I'm starving!" The subject of their conversation sternly demands with a plate of food in her hand.

"How was the meeting?" Blossom enquiringly needles as her sister hungrily shoves a piece of waffle in her mouth and grumbles, "Stupid,"

She was swallowing the piece before saying, "Athena's so hell bent on blaming _El Diablo_ for an uprising that it's plain stupid now."

Brick briefly spared a glance at each of their faces as their captain continued to divulge, "They think it might be a spy within the Tops ranks."

Blossom and Midori eyes widen at the revelation that one of the Tops potentially planned to overthrow the Council and disrupt the tournament.

The raven haired teen thoroughly chews her food first before she calmly mentions, "After our meeting, they'll probably think I'm the mole."

"What do you mean?" Their manager was confusingly asking since Buttercup was not making any sense.

"Every time she brought up _El Diablo de Tridente_ , I always spoke out against it." She mentioned a previous incident as she stabbed at another piece of waffle on her plate.

"As you should! The brood doesn't know the first thing about -," Brick was quickly covering Butch's mouth after realizing his brother was riling himself up.

Blossom drops her tone when she enquiringly probes, "Where's she getting this information from? Surely she has the full disposal of the Discipline Committee to figure out the source of the rumor unless there was mole in _El Diablo de Tridente_."

"But to leak information about the gang is a serious crime," Brick knowingly relayed about the insider possibly being in their gang.

"As long as they're not snooping around you two or saying we're cheating then we're good." The raven haired teen was firmly declaring with a stern expression on her face.

A smirk visually stretches across Butch's face as he proudly reckons "That's my Butter,"

"You know…" Buttercup promptly comments when a thoughtful expression manifests on her face, "I haven't swam in the hotel's pool ever since we got here."

Her teammates instantly understood the comment and look on her face as they declared, "Let's do it."


End file.
